Albert Oppong-Ansah
Antalya (Türkiye), Nov. 11, GNA – The African Group of Negotiators (AGN) is exploring ways to strengthen children’s participation in climate negotiations and ensure their concerns feature in decisions at COP31.
Nana Dr Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, Chair of the AGN, said children and young people needed meaningful opportunities to understand the negotiation process and contribute to discussions that would shape their future.
He gave the assurance during an engagement with a delegation of Child Parliamentarian, a group of African children at the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.
The meeting provided an opportunity for the children to raise concerns about their participation in climate discussions, challenges they faced linked to climate change effects like drought, floods and unpredictable rainfall pattern.
Dr Amoah said climate negotiations involved complex discussions built on years of previous agreements and technical work by specialists, lawyers and representatives of different sectors, making it difficult for newcomers, particularly children, to follow the process.
He noted that there was a need to make the outcomes of these discussions more accessible to children so they could understand the issues and contribute meaningfully.
Dr Amoah mentioned that the AGN would explore ways of explaining complex negotiation matters in language that children could understand and use to engage their peers and national representatives.
He noted that children’s participation should not be limited to international conferences but should also be strengthened at the national level through engagement with governments and climate focal points.
Dr Amoah said the AGN was working to strengthen its youth engagement structures and was expected to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with South Korean partners to facilitate youth participation in climate change discussions between Africa and South Korea.
Mr Mwila Malama, Leader of Child Parliamentarians said children’s rights and welfare needed to be reflected in climate negotiations and commitments made by African governments.
He said the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, signed by 52 African countries, provided a continental framework for protecting children’s wellbeing.
With Africa’s median age at 19, he said, children and young people constituted a significant part of the continent’s population and would live with the long-term consequences of climate decisions being taken today.
He said children therefore needed opportunities to influence discussions and ensure that their concerns were reflected in the outcome documents of climate conferences.
The representative recalled that a decision at COP28 had led to an expert dialogue on children and climate change, which was subsequently held in Bonn, Germany.
However, he said further engagement was needed to ensure that the outcomes of the dialogue informed subsequent climate discussions.
He explained that the children attending COP31 had been supported to obtain party badges, enabling them to participate as members of their countries’ delegations and engage with national representatives rather than being limited to observer access.
Dr Amoah said the concerns raised by the children, including the need for recognition, support and greater space in climate discussions, deserved attention from African leaders.
He pledged to sustain engagement with the delegation through further discussions, including virtual meetings after the conference.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Odeng Adade
Reporter: Albert Oppong-Ansah
Email: [email protected]