BUJUMBURA June 13th (ABP) – Every young person has the right to gainful employment, protection against economic exploitation and the exercise of functions which seem dangerous, which affect the young person’s studies or are likely to harm their health or development, according to article 15 of the African Youth Charter, in its subsections 1 and 2.
That article goes on to emphasize that States Parties to the Charter must ensure that accurate databases are available on youth employment, so that these subjects can be recognized as priorities in national development programs accompanied by the implementation of a clear program to combat unemployment.
States Parties to the said Charter shall take all appropriate measures with a view to realizing the right of young people to remunerative employment and shall in particular ensure equitable access to employment and equitable remuneration and guarantee protection against discrimination, without distinction of ethnicity, race, gender, disability, religion, culture, political opinion, social or economic category of origin.
They must also develop macroeconomic policies focused on job creation, especially for young people and for young women; adopt measures aimed at regulating the informal economy in order to guard against unfair labor practices in which the majority of young people work. They need to establish broader links between the labor market and the education and training system, to ensure that school curricula meet labor market needs and that young people are trained in areas where job opportunities exist or are expanding.
In the same vein, States Parties have the duty to put in place career guidance for young people, well-phased over time, as an integral part of the education and post-education system; and to promote entrepreneurship among young people by including in their school curricula training in entrepreneurship, training in business management techniques, providing them with loans and sponsorship opportunities as well as better information on market opportunities.
They also have a duty to put in place incentive systems through which employers will have to invest in the development of the capacities of young employees and unemployed young people; and finally, to set up national service programs for young people aimed at encouraging community participation and the development of skills leading to access to the labor market.
Recall that the African Youth Charter was adopted by the seventh ordinary session of the conference held on July 2, 2006 in Banjul (Gambia), and was ratified and enacted on January 9, 2023 by the President of Burundi, Mr. Evariste Ndayishimiye.