EASF Participates in the High Level Ministerial Meeting on Youth, Peace and Security

The third High-Level Ministerial Conference on the Role of Governments, Regional Economic Communities and Regional Mechanisms in Promoting the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda was officially inaugurated by H.E Ezéchiel Nibigira, Minister of East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sports and Culture, on Tuesday 9^th May 2023 at the Kiriri Gardens in Bujumbura, Burundi.

The Eastern Africa Standby Force was represented by Mr. Jules Hoareau, Public Information Manager who was also nominated as a panellist on the first day of the meeting. The EASF is one of the Regional Mechanisms actively engaged in the promotion of youth peace and security. EASF conducted numerous activities last year involving the youths from all EASF Member States and already this year, the EASF has hosted two youth peace seminars and environmental awareness programmes in Comoros and the Republic of Djibouti.

The African Union Commission (AUC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), the Horn of Africa Youth Network, the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), and Save the Children International are the main partners of this important event. Over the last seventeen years, there have been deliberate efforts across Africa to recognize the positive roles of young people as peacemakers and promote their active participation in peacebuilding efforts. This has taken political goodwill and a series of legal and policy developments to achieve positive outcomes.

The objectives of the high-level meeting are first to advocate for more inclusive participation and meaningful engagement with young people as an asset in peacebuilding and conflict prevention mechanisms and to support a platform for vision-sharing by the AU Champion for Youth, Peace, and Security on the continent's Youth, Peace and Security agenda.