The Working Group on Lessons Learned (WGLL) of the Peacebuilding Commission convened a panel discussion on Wednesday, 14 July to discuss the issue of youth employment in post-conflict settings and measures to incorporate this topic into peacebuilding.

The WGLL’s last meeting took place on 26 May, where Member States discussed the role of the PBC in marshalling resources for the countries on its agenda by drawing from various sources of funding including public, private, regional, and international sources.

Addressing the group for the second time since his election, the Ambassador Gyan Chandra Acharya (Nepal), Chair of the Working Group on Lessons Learned introduced the theme of the discussion.  A major challenge facing post-conflict countries, the Chair said, is the significant threat that unemployed youth populations pose to the maintenance of long-term peace and security. 

Unoccupied youth have the potential to trigger or reignite conflict in fragile states.  Lacking in essential education and training, these ‘lost’ generations of young people, many of whom matured under the difficult circumstances of extreme violence and conflict, are not equipped to enter the workforce of emerging economies – and to effectively support themselves in the fragile aftermath of conflict.  As a result, youths are extremely vulnerable to manipulation and recruitment into continued or reignited violence and unrest.  Little other choice is available to many of these young people, as a vicious cycle of lack of opportunity and mistrust of a generation for whom violence and unrest was a familiar reality, cripples their ability to adjust to a ‘normal’ way of life. Further compounding this problem is the fact that youths comprise the largest portion of post-conflict states’ populations.

The same youth population that might fuel conflict may also serve to prevent it, and this meeting of the Working Group on Lessons Learned focused on ways to promote the role of youth in building peace in war-torn countries.  Thus, the subject of youth employment is a crucial one in peacebuilding and for the PBC.  As the Chair of the WGLL put it, youth can be harnessed to build better futures through targeted development initiatives, training and private sector investment. 

Panelists
Speaking on the panel were Mr. Alfredo Lazarte Hoyle, Director of the International Programme on Crisis Response and Reconstruction at the International Labour Organization (ILO), who shared some lessons learned from the ILO’s previous youth employment initiatives in Liberia and throughout Africa; Mr. Jules Ramazani Abedi, of the Youth Entrepreneurship and Sustainability – Democratic Republic of Congo (YES-DRC), and Founder and President of Action for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship in Congo (APEC-NGO), who joined the meeting via video link from Kampala, Uganda, detailing the experiences his organizations have had with entrepreneurship education and mentoring programs in DRC; and Mr. Dabesaki Mac-Ikemenjima, Advisor to the Centre for Youth Development and Research Initiative and Youth Development Consultant for the African Union Commission, who offered his personal reflections and experiences of youth employment and education initiatives in Liberia, and in his native Nigeria.

The panelists’ presentations offered a closer look at the issue of youth employment as it realistically affects post-conflict countries in Africa.  Broadly, the panelists emphasized that the issue should become a priority for the Peacebuilding Commission, as it represents a major defense against relapse into conflict, if handled correctly. 

Further conclusions made by panelists:

• Education and skills training is essential for successful youth employment initiatives, and should be supported by both national authorities and the PBC.  – “Train, grant, mentor”
•  Apprenticeship/mentoring programs paired with vocational/technical training should be integrated into basic youth employment initiatives in order to ensure the sustainability, or further development of business ventures.  Cooperatives to gain funding for independent businesses should also become standard practice to allow young entrepreneurs to both develop a network of contacts and relationships with domestic and international partners, and to facilitate the growth of businesses beyond small enterprises.
• Youth employment education should go beyond skills training and should provide opportunities for education in maintaining businesses, such as essential accounting and managing skills.
• Projects targeting youths are often subject to short-term commitment by the donors who make them possible.  Many times, projects fail because of lack of oversight.  Thus, follow-up should be permanently integrated into youth employment and especially entrepreneurship programs to ensure long-term success and sustainability.
• The social cohesion of youth populations is crucial to overcoming a vicious cycle of instability and violence in countries whose youth population is associated with ex-combatants.  Given the chance for education, training and gainful employment, youths are less likely to be coerced back into violence.    More broadly, reintegrating young people into society serves as a basis for broader economic recovery.
• Finally, youth populations are not often involved in the policy and decision-making process that affect their own employment opportunities.  Due to this lack of involvement, youths feel disconnected from initiatives, and governments and organizations lack the often innovative input of youth populations.  Therefore, future initiatives should allow for the participation of young people.

Member States’ views and reception of panelists’ presentations:
Member States were interested in and receptive of the panelists’ presentations, recognizing the need for youth employment to become a central issue in future PBC endeavors.

In his capacity as Chair of the PBC’s Organizational Committee, Ambassador Peter Wittig of Germany emphasized that the PBC should focus on realistic and innovative ways for the Commission to aid in employing youths in post-conflict countries, keeping in mind the security risks of unemployed youth populations.  Japan added that the PBC (and the Security Council) should concentrate on translating policy recommendations into concrete and timely action.

Canada (Chair of the Sierra Leone configuration) and Benin called for a focus on youth employment initiatives in the agriculture sector, while taking into account the constraints past projects in this area have encountered.  In order to combat such constraints, Benin emphasized the importance of appropriate and sustained funding for beneficiaries.  Belgium (Chair of the Central African Republic configuration) noted the launch of a unique project in CAR, in which ex-combatants are reintegrated into the agricultural sector. 

Brazil (Chair of the Guinea-Bissau configuration) lauded the success of micro-credit and education programs in Guinea-Bissau, and suggested that these types of initiatives should be applied to the other PBC Agenda countries.  India echoed the call for micro-credit initiatives.

Integrating an appropriate gender perspective into peacebuilding and corresponding youth employment programs was raised by Belgium, Chile, Mexico, and Denmark as a vital consideration for the future.

Finally, a number of countries, including Japan, and Denmark noted the significance of developing stable economic and security environments in post-conflict countries to attract private investment, which in turn, could foster sustainable and long-term economic development and enrichment for young entrepreneurs and workers in the Agenda countries.

NEXT STEPS

The Chair of the Working Group explained that the 14 July meeting is only the first of hopefully several meetings on the topic of youth employment. 

More discussions on this topic will follow in the coming weeks and months, in which Member States will hopefully see the development of new ideas for realistic follow-up on the important issue of youth employment.