Communiqué of the 1183rd Meeting of the Peace and Security Council, Held on 3 November 2023, on the Youth, Peace and Security in Africa.

Abstract

The following steps were emphasized by the Council as essential to furthering the YPS agenda throughout the continent: a. The AU Commission, RECs/RMs, and other sub-regional organizations should keep working in concert to implement the CFYPS; b. Member States need to invest in youth through research, capacity building, mentorship, and development initiatives; c. Member States need to further encourage youth to participate in politics; d. Youth need to be anticipated and further enhanced in order to be consistently at the forefront of addressing new and emerging threats to peace and security; e. Youth must be purposefully and methodically involved in mediation, dialogue, reconciliation, and other peace processes on the continent; f. Member States and RECs/RMs should support youth sports and cultural events; g. The AU Commission should institutionalize youth participation, especially through the AYAPs and WiseYouth Network, in preventive diplomacy missions and AU Election Observer Missions; h. Combined efforts should be doubled in order to forge intergovernmental and multilateral partnerships that will give youth a platform to lead the YPS agenda; and i. The need to establish an alumni platform for the AYAP. The President of the Republic of Burundi, H.E. Évariste Ndayishimiye, was also congratulated by the Council for his efforts as the AU Champion for the Youth, Peace, and Security Agenda.Finally, the Council asked the AU Commission to ensure youth participation at the upcoming Counter-terrorism Summit, which is set for April 2024 in Abuja, Nigeria, and to encourage discussions regarding the exploitation of youth by terrorist and armed groups so that potential countermeasures can be developed.