Okeil: Arab countries should adopt national action plans to implement the youth, peace, and security agenda

Monica Mina: Youth is an essential component of society, and societies should not neglect to enhance their participation and inclusion in peace-building processes

Maat for Peace, Development and Human Rights Association finalized yesterday, Tuesday, February 15, 2022, the implementation of the activities of the "Youth, Peace and Security" initiative, within the framework of project "Peacebuilders in Egypt: Combating Hate Speech in the Name of Religion", where the initiative focused on the role of youth in peace-building processes and reducing Conflicts and wars, as well as combating terrorism and extremism and their involvement in peaceful negotiations, especially in war and conflict areas.

During the initiative, in which a number of youth participated, the Security Council Resolution No. 2250 related to the integration of youth and the strengthening of their role in peacebuilding processes in the world, especially in war and conflict areas, including the Arab regions, was highlighted. They recommended the importance of activating the goals of the youth, peace, and security agenda in Egypt.

On the sidelines of the initiative and with the participation of the participating youth, a study was issued entitled “From Saying to Doing”: Youth, Peace and Security Agenda & its Application in the Arab Region…With Egypt as a Model” “ under the supervision of the research team of the Maat Association. The study dealt with the explanation and analysis of the five pillars of Security Council Resolution 2250 of 2015 And subsequent resolutions such as Resolution No. 2419 of 2018 and Resolution No. 2535 of 2020, where the three resolutions form the current general framework of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda. The study included a road map that includes eight goals based on the Agenda’s goals to enhance the role of youth in building peace.

On the sidelines of the initiative, an electronic symposium was also organized to discuss the axes of the study that was launched and exchange experiences through fruitful discussions with a group of experts and researchers in youth and peace issues in the Arab region with the aim of analyzing the countries’ implementation of the youth, peace and security agenda items and activating the role of youth and integrating them in the processes of dissemination and peace building .

During the symposium, a member of the International Alliance for Youth, Peace and Security explained Maan Shamalia, local and global efforts to integrate youth into peace processes, stressing that these efforts must be in a participatory and cooperative manner, not in competition, with the aim of bridging the gap between youth and decision and policy makers.

As confirmed Ola Al-Saqqaf Yemeni activist and expert in peace-building operations on the role of women in spreading peace and security, and despite the agenda's emphasis on integrating youth in general in peace negotiations, the agenda neglected women's participation in conflict resolution negotiations.

On the other hand, I discussed Moussaoui moon, Project Coordinator at Adyan Foundation, the most important challenges facing youth, policy makers and stakeholders during attempts to open safe spaces for youth to participate in peace and security processes, and stressed that the most important challenges that have been focused on are financial or economic challenges, and the lack of information circulation or sufficient awareness of youth about issues peace and security; This is in addition to the difficulty of movement and communication at times due to conflicts and wars in many Arab regions.

At the end of the symposium, he emphasized Ali Muhammad, the researcher at the Maat Foundation stressed the need to take into account not only written texts and the issuance of studies and reports, but also to strive to move to the ground and take effective steps towards young people, and in the same context, she emphasized Monica Mina, Director of Programs and Projects at Maat Foundation, which administered the symposium, asserting that youth are an essential element in society, and societies should not neglect to enhance their participation and inclusion in peace-building processes. Although there are many local efforts made in the framework of strengthening the role of youth and empowering them, so far there is no Any clear policies or strategies that directly implement the goals of the youth, peace and security agenda.

In conclusion, the international human rights expert and head of the Maat Foundation Ayman Aqeel stressed the importance of the youth, peace and security agenda as an innovative peaceful mechanism that must be circulated and activate its goals to empower young people in the Egyptian society to integrate into the processes of dissemination and peace building and support them to implement and create new positive and peaceful mechanisms to limit the spread of wars and conflicts . Akil also called on Arab countries to adopt national action plans to implement the youth, peace and security agenda.