BUJUMBURA, September 26th (ABP) – One of the duties of the States Parties to the African Youth Charter, in its article 19 paragraph 2 point b, adopted on July 2, 2006 in Banjul, The Gambia, is to ensure the training of young people in the use of technologies that protect and conserve the environment.
According to paragraph 1 of the said article of the African Youth Charter, States Parties must ensure that they use sustainable methods capable of improving the living conditions of young people, so that the measures instituted do not compromise the opportunities for future generations. States Parties must also recognize the interest that young people demonstrate in protecting the natural environment as heirs of natural heritage.
In that regard, those State Parties have a duty to encourage the media, youth organizations, in partnership with national and international organizations, to produce, exchange and disseminate information on environmental preservation and best practices for environmental protection.
In the same line of ideas, State Parties to the Charter must support youth organizations by setting up incentive programs for environmental preservation such as waste reduction, recycling and reforestation programs. They must also facilitate the participation of young people in the development, implementation and evaluation of environmental policies, including the conservation of African natural resources at the local, national, regional and international levels.
The States Parties to the said Charter finally have a duty to develop a flexible and realistic strategy in the field of regeneration (the power to reconstitute a destroyed part) of forests and to initiate intensive actions in the fight against desertification. Note that the Burundian Senate unanimously passed the bill on ratification by the Republic of Burundi of the African Youth Charter on December 8, 2022. The said Charter was enacted by Head of State Evariste Ndayishimiye on January 9, 2023.