The Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) Department of the African Union (AU) Commission will facilitate the selection of the second cohort of African Youth Ambassadors for Peace (AYAPs) as part of celebrations to mark the Africa Youth Day.
The process is a statutory activity of the African Union to implement the Decision of the 33rd Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government (February 2020) which endorsed the Peace and Security Council’s appointment of five (5) regional African Youth Ambassadors for Peace. The AYAPs are mandated to promote meaningful youth participation at all levels of peacebuilding across Africa for two years non-renewable. The mandate of AYAPs is in line with Article 17 of the AU Youth Charter (2006) and the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2250 (2015).
The event will bring together representatives from the AU Commission, Regional Economic Commissions and Regional Mechanisms (RECs/RMs), and young Africans from across the continent and the diaspora. It will be held from the 9th to the 12th of November 2021, in a hybrid format, both at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa and via the Zoom online platform.
For three days, fifteen (15) finalists, three (3) from each of Africa’s five sub-regions, will undergo a rigorous screening process to test their knowledge on African governance, peace and security issues, life skills, and character. The AYAPs-elect, one (1) per region, will subsequently be presented to the African Union Peace and Security Council and will officially assume office in February 2022, and continue to work very closely in the implementation of their mandate, with the Youth for Peace Africa Program within the PAPS Department of the AU Commission.
It must be recalled that on the 21st of September 2021, on the International Day of Peace, the AU Youth for Peace Africa Program, together with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), had convened young African influencers from across Africa to work in synergy in the fight against misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and other forms of discrimination, bullying and harassment online. The meeting effectively launched the “No Room for Hate Speech” campaign in Zanzibar, Tanzania, which young people from across the continent champion.
The outgoing AYAPs, incoming AYAPs and the young African influencers will therefore build on that momentum to actively engage with young Africans and to amplify the “No Room for Hate Speech” online campaign throughout the month of November and beyond in order to sensitize African youth on the dangers of hate ideology, its legal and socio-economic consequences on individuals and on communities.
More information here.