The Peace and Security Department (PSD) of the African Union Commission (AUC) invited Training for Peace Africa (TfP) partners to take part in a Validation Meeting on the Peace and Security Council (PSC)-Mandated Study on the Role and Contribution of Youth to Peace and Security in Africa and the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) Continental Framework. The meeting took place from the 22nd to the 24th of October 2019 in Accra, Ghana.
The Validation is the final formal stage prior to the presentation of the study report to the AU PSC during its next Youth, Peace and Security Session in November 2019. The validation is a follow up to the pre-validation workshop which was supported by ACCORD/TfP and was held in Nairobi Kenya from the 7th to 11th of October 2019. The meeting created an opportunity for the study process to be reviewed and for the findings and recommendations to be presented to a broader audience for considerations and inputs.
The main objective of the validation meeting was to receive feedback and the reactions of youth to findings and recommendations of the study that constitute the primary constituents of the study. The workshop created an opportunity for the youth groups participating in the workshop to look through the findings of the study per region, review, strengthen and amalgamate all the reports into one composite draft. The workshop also worked on the Youth Framework and made inputs into the draft and finalised it. As such, presenters provided an overview of the major findings from the study, specifically focusing on the regional peculiarities and findings on the contributions of youth, their challenges, resilience and recommendations to enhance their interventions.
The outcome of the activity will contribute towards the adoption of both the framework and the findings of study by the PSC in November 2019. More specifically, the following results were achieved: The drafts objectives and priorities of the findings and the YPS framework were reviewed, amended adopted approved and endorsed as a true reflection of the youth contributions to peace and security.
ACCORD TfP’s participation in the meeting aimed at strengthening its ongoing partnership with the AU on issues of youth as well as capitalise on this opportunity to provide further substantive inputs into the study. The findings of the study will help ACCORD/TfP to consider and identify areas for further interaction and collaboration with the AU Y4P Program.
Participation in activities that focus on peace operations capacity enhancement, is in line with ACCORD/TfP Programme’s strategic goal of supporting efforts at strengthening the AUC, RECs/RMs and member states capability to plan, manage and implement PSOs on the continent. The support is provided through the enhancement of the operational capacities and capability to ensure effective functioning of organizational systems in the AU/RECs/RMs, member states.
The Training for Peace Programme at ACCORD is an initiative funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
ACCORD was represented by Sibusisiwe Nkosi Programme Officer Peacekeeping Unit. For more information, please contact her at: sibusisiwe@accord.org.za.
