African Youth Charter

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The African Youth Forum in Addis Ababa in April 2011

The African Youth Charter ( AYC ) was adopted in 2006 by the states of the African Union and is intended to improve the rights and opportunities of young people on the continent.

decision

The charter was adopted on July 2, 2006 during the seventh ordinary session of the General Assembly of the African Union in the Gambian capital Banjul . Mali was the first nation to ratify the Youth Charter on October 25, 2006, and by June 2017, 38 African states had officially ratified the Charter. After 15 states had ratified the agreement, the agreement entered into force on August 8, 2009.

content

The charter is divided into three parts, the preamble , the main part of the text on the rights and obligations of young people and a final part with formal provisions.

preamble

The preamble highlights the enormous importance of youth for the African continent:

Believes that Africa's greatest resource is its youth and that through their activity and participation, Africans can move beyond the problems that have passed.

In addition, numerous problems of African youth are named, such as the high number of people infected with HIV , widespread poverty and the low literacy rate .

Rights and duties of youth

The rights and duties of African youth are set out in 28 articles. These include:

  • Article 1: The signatory states must recognize the rights and obligations enshrined in the Charter and take the necessary steps to implement them in their country
  • Article 2: No young person should be discriminated against
  • Article 3: Every young person has the right to freedom of movement
  • Article 4: Every young person has the right to develop ideas and opinions and to express them
  • Article 5: Freedom of association and assembly for young people
  • Article 6: Young people have freedom of thought , religion and conscience
  • Article 10: Every young person should have the opportunity to develop socially, culturally, politically and economically
  • Article 12: The signatory states are obliged to develop a national youth policy
  • Article 13: Every young person has the right to a good education
  • Article 16: Every young person should have access to good medical care
  • Article 26: Young people have a responsibility towards the family, society, the state and the international community. It is therefore their duty to honor their parents, to exercise their civic duties and to participate in the development of their country

implementation

To implement the Youth Charter, an action plan was drawn up for the 2009-2018 Youth Decade, which contains concrete steps to implement the goals. With the African Youth Forum, the Pan-African Youth Parliament and the Organization of African Youth, institutions have emerged that are committed to the implementation of the Charter. On June 1, 2006, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the resolution of the Charter, an event took place in Banjul, at which the President of the Pan-African Youth Parliament and the Gambian Youth Minister spoke.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ulrike Wanitzek: Normative family images for Africa: the UN Convention and the African Charter on the Rights of the Child . Ed .: Afrika Spectrum. 2007.
  2. ↑ African Youth Charter | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Accessed May 1, 2019 .
  3. ^ OAU / AU Treaties, Conventions, Protocols & Charters | African Union. Accessed May 1, 2019 .
  4. ↑ African Union (Ed.): African Youth Charter . Banjul 2006.
  5. ↑ About OAYouth - Organization of African Youth (OAYouth). Accessed May 1, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Marc McIlhone: 10 Year Celebration of the African Youth Charter - Africa Brains. Retrieved May 1, 2019 (American English).