GITEGA June 4th (ABP) – The Ministry of East African Community Affairs, Youth, Sports and Culture, in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), organized on Thursday, June 1, 2023 in Gitega (center of the country), a workshop to launch national consultations for the development of the national youth strategy on peace and security 2023-2027.
The assistant to the minister in charge of youth, Mrs. Liliane Gahungu, said that to be in line with the commitments made at the level of the East African community, the government of Burundi has undertaken to draft the national youth strategy on peace and security at the country level.
According to her, the strategy will make it possible to define strategic orientations with a view to achieving medium and long-term goals, whose conditions for success are based on the achievement of inclusive accelerated assistance for lasting peace in Burundi.
Mrs. Gahungu also pointed out that young people continue to face significant challenges arising from globalization, unemployment, violence, demographic changes, forced displacements, inequalities, new technologies and the evolution of labor markets and climate change. According to her, young people around the world are fighting for peace, justice, inclusion, gender equality and human rights, their aspirations, their views and their demands must be heard.
The UNDP Resident Representative in Burundi, Mr. Mathieu Ciowela, pointed out that the Secretary General’s 2022 report on “Youth, Peace and Security” highlights that the safety, security and protection of young people have not improved significantly.
In that regard, he pointed out that the shrinking civic space associated with the impact of armed conflicts and the pandemic has led to serious protection problems requiring urgent action.
Despite this, Mr. Ciowela praised the efforts of the Burundian State to promote youth in several sectors of the country’s life, including in the field of Peace and Security. He took the opportunity to congratulate the President of the Republic Mr. Evariste Ndayishimiye for his designation by his peers as Champion of the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda of the African Union.
In his opening remarks, the socio-cultural adviser to the governor of Gitega, Mr. Samuel Nininahazwe, pointed out that the youth of Gitega have already aligned themselves with the development program initiated by the government of Burundi by setting up income-generating projects.