A Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) practitioner, Issah Toha Shamsoo, has underscored the need to place young people at the center of Ghana’s peace and security architecture, stressing that sustainable peace cannot be achieved without their active and meaningful participation.
He made the remarks while speaking to A1 News on the sidelines of a two-day stakeholder consultation on the development of Ghana’s National Action Plan (NAP) on Youth, Peace and Security, held at the Regional House of Chiefs Auditorium in Bolgatanga.
According to him, the Youth, Peace and Security agenda is built on recognizing young people as key partners rather than passive beneficiaries in peacebuilding processes. With the country experiencing intermittent conflicts and violence, he noted that youth inclusion is no longer optional but essential to national stability.
He explained that young people form a significant portion of Ghana’s population, referencing national demographic data of about 11.7 million to emphasize that excluding this group from peace and security decision-making would undermine national development efforts.
As part of the ongoing development of the National Action Plan, he indicated that the consultation provided a platform for young people to share their experiences, perspectives, and recommendations, which will be integrated into the national framework to ensure institutionalized youth participation.
He outlined the five core pillars guiding the Youth, Peace and Security agenda: participation, which focuses on engaging young people in peace processes; protection, aimed at safeguarding youth from violence, exploitation, and recruitment into extremist activities; and prevention, which emphasizes collaboration with youth-led and youth-focused organizations to prevent the escalation of conflicts. The other pillars — partnerships, and disengagement and reintegration — seek to promote collaboration between the state and young people while ensuring that those exiting armed conflict are supported and reintegrated into society without stigma.
He noted that these pillars form the backbone of Ghana’s proposed National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security, which is being developed in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2250, with support from development partners.
The consultation was led by the National Youth Authority (NYA) in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the National Peace Council, the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC).
Source: A1 Radio | 101.1 Mhz | Gifty Eyram Kudiabor | Bolgatanga
