By Benjamin Mensah
Accra, March 27, GNA- A group of young peace builders from across West Africa are meeting in Accra to discuss ways of ensuring that young people are given a broader participation in peace activities and security decision-making now, rather than later, in their respective countries.
The meeting, dubbed West Africa Youth Summit on Peace, Peacebuilding and Security, opened with a call to increase meaningful youth participation in peace and security activities as violent extremism continues to threaten the sub-region.
There was dialogue, exchange of knowledge, collective action planning at the three-day meeting, which was themed “Leaders of Today, Not Tomorrow”, and attended by young peacebuilders from across Wes Africa.
Other participants at the summit, convened by Conciliation Resources, in collaboration with Northcode Ghana and Indigo Côte d’Ivoire, with support from Global Affairs Canada, were representatives of West African peace networks, and leaders from minority ethnic groups and marginalised communities.
The summit, described as one of the most significant gatherings of young peace practitioners in the region in recent years, attracted also young women and men from border communities in Northern Ghana and Côte D’Ivoire.
It also brought traditional leaders, government representatives, and regional security experts into direct dialogue with participants, ensuring that the insights and expertise of young peacebuilders reach those with the authority to act on them.
Dr. George Amoh, the Executive Secretary, National Peace Council, addressing the opening session, noted that the southward spread of armed conflict from the Sahel had placed an increasing pressure on communities that had until recently been spared the worst of regional instability.
He emphasized that young people are not just the future but present leaders that are shaping the present, and whose role in peace building is critical in addressing the wave of insecurity in the sub-region
He said the lack of meaningful opportunities and gainful employment avenues nurtured the grounds for young people to be vulnerable, but when given the right opportunities, young people could become the strongest agents of peace and development.
“Young people are not the problem; the conditions we have created make some vulnerable. When given the opportunity, they can become the strongest agents of peace and development,” Dr Amoh said.
Dr Amoh called on the governments of countries in West Africa to upscale the provision of employable skills for young people and provide them with start-up capital and other resources for them to be engaged and sustained in small and medium enterprises.
“The Devil finds work for idle hands,” Dr Amoh said, pointing out that idle hands often end up in wars and non-productive work.
Mr. Julian Cobbina, the Chairperson of the Governing Board of the National Youth Authority (NYA), said peace can no longer be defined merely by the absence of violence, but by the presence of opportunity, dignity and inclusion.
“The most powerful weapon in our national arsenal is not a drone or a battalion. It is a young person who has something to lose because they finally have everything to gain,” he stated.
He also cautioned that unchecked youth unemployment should be treated as a national security emergency rather than a routine economic challenge.
Madam Nansata Saliah Yakubu, the West Africa Programme Director at Conciliation Resources, welcomed participants with a message emphasising the expertise and legitimacy young people bring to peace and security work:
“These are not young people waiting to inherit the challenge of building peace. They are doing it now, in their communities, across borders, every day. This summit is a space to connect that work, amplify it, and ensure it reaches the people who need to hear it most,” she said.
Mr Simone Diouf, African Union Ambassador for Youth in West Africa, delivered a youth representative’s opening statement on behalf of participants.
The Accra Youth Declaration on Peace and Security in West Africa is expected to be delivered at the end of the summit.
The Declaration is a youth-led statement of priority concerns, recommendations, and commitments to be presented to regional governments, the African Union, ECOWAS, and international partners.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba