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D
R A F T
Pan-African
Youth Charter
PREAMBLE
The States Parties of the African Union, Parties to the present
Charter entitled ‘Pan-African Youth Charter’,
GUIDED
by the inherent dignity and inalienable rights afforded to all
members of the human family as set out in the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International
Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (1976) and the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1976), and
articulated for the African peoples through the African Charter
on Human and People’s Rights (1986),
TAKING
INTO CONSIDERATION the virtues and values of African historical
tradition and civilization which form the foundation for our
concept of people’s rights,
STATING
that Africa’s greatest resource is its people and that
through their active and full participation, Africans can surmount
the difficulties that lie ahead as espoused in the Africa Charter
for Popular Participation (1990),
TAKING
NOTE of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (1979) and the Protocol to the African Charter
on Human and Peoples’ Rights relating to the Rights of
Women in Africa (2003) and the progress achieved in eliminating
gender discrimination, but ever cognisant of the obstacles that
still prevent girls and women from fully participating in African
society,
REAFFIRMING
the need to take appropriate measures to promote and protect
the rights and welfare of children as outlined in the Convention
of the Rights of the Child (1989) and through the African Charter
on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1999),
ACKNOWLEDGING
that achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) a consensus framework based on commitments already
made within the ICPD??? Plan of Action, the Beijing Plan of
Action, the World Social Summits and the New Partnership for
Africa’s Development (NEPAD) require significant effort
to advance the wellbeing of youth,
RECOGNISING the efforts made by States Parties and societies
to address the economic, social, educational, emotional, cultural
and spiritual needs of youth,
NOTING
with concern the situation of African youth, many of whom are
marginalized from mainstream society through inequalities in
income, wealth and power, unemployment and underemployment,
infected and affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, living in situations
of poverty and hunger, experiencing illiteracy and poor quality
educational systems, restricted access to health services and
to information, exposure to violence including gender violence,
engaging in armed conflicts and experiencing various forms of
discrimination,
RECALLING
the United Nations World Programme of Action for Youth to the
Year 2000 and Beyond and the ten priority areas identified for
youth (education, employment, hunger and poverty, health, environment,
drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, leisure-time activities, girls
and young women and youth participating in decision-making),
and the five additional areas (HIV/AIDS, ICT, Inter-generational
dialogue,..) adopted at the 2005 UN General assembly,
RECALLING
the Lisbon Declaration on Youth Policies and Programmes adopted
at the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth in
1998,
ACKNOWLEDGING
the World Youth Reports of 2003 and 2005 that outline the multiple
gains and challenges faced by youth across the globe,
RECOGNISING that youth are partners, assets and a prerequisite
for sustainable development and for the peace and prosperity
of Africa with a unique contribution to make to the present
and to future development,
CONSIDERING
the role that youth have played in the continents continent’s
decolonisation and more recently in the developmental efforts
and the expansion of the democratic space of the African Continent,
REAFFIRMING
that the continuous cultural development of Africa rests with
its young people and therefore requires their active and enlightened
participation as espoused in the Cultural Charter for Africa
(1976),
GUIDED by the New Partnership for Africa’s Development
Strategic Framework for Youth Programme of 2004 that is working
towards youth empowerment and development,
ACKNOWLEDGING
the voice of youth and their enthusiasm to actively participate
at local, national, regional and international levels to determine
their own development and the advancement of society at large,
And
ACKNOWLEDGING the call of youth organisations across Africa
to empower youth by building their capacity and opening access
to information such that they can take up their rightful place
as active agents in decision-making and governance,
TAKING
INTO CONSIDERATION the inter-relatedness of the challenges facing
youth and the need for cross-sectoral policies and programmes
that attends to the needs of youth in a holistic manner,
CONSIDERING
that the promotion and protection of the rights of youth also
implies the performance of duties by youth as by all other actors
in society,
TAKING
INTO CONSIDERATION the needs and aspirations of young displaced
persons, refugees and youth with special needs,
HAVE
AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
PART
1: RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Article 1: Obligation of State Parties
1.States Parties of the African Union to the present Charter
shall recognize the rights, freedoms and duties enshrined in
this Charter and shall undertake the necessary steps, in accordance
with their Constitutional processes and with the provisions
of the present Charter, to adopt such legislative or other measures
that may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of the
Charter.
2. Any customs, traditions, cultural or religious practices
that are inconsistent with the rights, duties, freedoms and
obligations in the present Charter shall to the extent of such
inconsistency be discouraged.
Article
2: Definition of Youth and Young People
For the
purposes of this Charter, youth or young people refer to every
human being between the ages of 15 and 30 years. Considering
the transitional nature of youth that is influenced by social,
economic, political, cultural and others factors, this definition
does not exclude youth or young people below and above the specified
age-range who may be engaged in this transition.
Article
3: Non-discrimination
1. Every
young person shall be entitled to the enjoyments of the rights
and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in this Charter irrespective
of their race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion,
political or other opinion, national and social origin, fortune,
birth or other status.
2. States
Parties shall take appropriate measures to ensure that youth
are protected against all forms of discrimination on the basis
of status, activities, expressed opinions or beliefs.
1. States
Parties recognise that every young person has the inherent
right to life, dignity, liberty and security of person.
2. States
Parties shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival
and positive development of youth.
Article
5: Self-determination
1. States Parties shall recognise that every young person has
the right to self-determination. By virtue of this right, youth
may freely determine their political status and freely pursue
their economic, social and cultural development.
Article
6: Freedom of Movement
1. Every
young person has the right to freedom of movement and residence
within the borders of each state.
2. Every
young person has the right to leave any country, including
his/her own, and to return to his/her country.
Article
7: Freedom of Expression
1. Every
young person shall be assured the right to express his or
her ideas and opinions freely in all matters and to disseminate
his or her ideas and opinions subject to the restrictions
as are prescribed by laws.
2. Every
young person shall have the freedom to seek, receive and disseminate
information and ideas of all kinds, either orally, in writing,
in print, in the form of art or through any media of the young
person’s choice subject to the restrictions as are prescribed
by laws.
Article
8: Freedom of Association
1. Every
young person shall have the right to free association and
freedom of peaceful assembly in conformity with the law.
2. Young
people shall not be compelled to belong to an association.
Article
9: Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion
Every young person shall have the right to freedom of thought,
conscience and religion.
Article
10: Protection of Privacy
No young
person shall be subject to the arbitrary or unlawful interference
with his privacy, family home or correspondence, or to attacks
upon his honour or reputation. Youth have the right to the protection
of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article
11: Protection of the Family
1. The
family, as the most basic social institution, shall enjoy
the full protection and support of States Parties for its
establishment and development noting that the structure and
form of families varies in different social and cultural contexts.
2. Young
men and women of full age who enter into marriage shall do
so based on their free consent and shall enjoy equal rights
and responsibilities.
1. Every
young person shall have the right to own land and property.
2. States
Parties shall ensure that young men and young women enjoy
equal rights to own land and property.
3. States
Parties shall ensure that youth are not arbitrarily deprived
of their property.
1. Every
young person shall have the right to social, economic, political
and cultural development with due regard to their freedom
and identity and in equal enjoyment of the common heritage
of mankind.
2. States
Parties to the present Charter shall have the duty, individually
or collectively, to ensure the exercise of the right to development.
Article
14: Youth Participation
1. Every
young person shall have the right to participate in all spheres
of society.
2. States
Parties shall take the following steps to promote active youth
participation in society. In this regard,
They
shall:
a)
Introduce a quota system to ensure youth participation in
parliament and other decision-making processes;
b)
Create a platform for youth participation in decision-making
at local and national levels of governance;
c)
Ensure equal access to young men and young women to participate
in decision making and in fulfilling civic duties;
d)
Give priority to policies and programmes including youth
advocacy and peer-to-peer programmes for marginalised youth,
such as out-of-school and out-of-work youth, to offer them
the opportunity and motivation to re-integrate into mainstream
society;
e)
Provide access to information such that young people become
aware of their rights and of opportunities to participate
in decision-making and civic life;
f)
Encourage the media to disseminate information that will
be of economic, social and cultural benefit to youth;
g)
Promote the development of youth media for the dissemination
of information to young people;
h)
Encourage international co-operation in the production,
exchange and dissemination of information from both national
and international sources that are of economic, social and
cultural value to youth;
i)
Provide access to information and education and training
for young people to learn their rights and responsibilities,
to be schooled in democratic processes, citizenship, decision-making,
governance and leadership such that they develop the technical
skills and confidence to participate in these processes;
j)
Institute measures to professionalize youth work and introduce
relevant training programmes in higher education and other
such training institutions;
k)
Provide technical and financial support to build the institutional
capacity of youth organisations;
l) Institute
policy and programmes of youth voluntarism at local, national,
regional and international levels as an important form of
youth participation and as a means of peer-to-peer training.
m)
Provide access to information and services that will empower
youth to become aware of their rights and responsibilities,
n)
Include youth representatives as part of delegations to
ordinary sessions and other relevant meetings to broaden
channels of communication and enhance the discussion of
youth related issues.
Article
15: National Youth Policy
1. Every
State Parties shall develop a comprehensive and coherent national
youth policy.
a) The
policy shall be cross-sectoral in nature considering the
inter-relatedness of the challenges facing young people;
b) The
development of a national youth policy shall be informed
by extensive consultation with young people and cater for
their active participation in decision-making at all levels
of governance in issues concerning youth and society as
a whole;
c)
A youth perspective shall be integrated and mainstreamed
into all planning and decision-making as well as programme
development. The appointment of youth focal points in government
structures shall enable this process;
d)
Mechanisms to address these youth challenges shall be framed
within the national development framework of the country;
e)
The policy shall provide guidelines on the definition of
youth adopted and specify subgroups that shall be targeted
for development;
f)
The policy shall advocate equal opportunities for young
men and for young women;
g)
A baseline evaluation or situation analysis shall inform
the policy on the priority issues for youth development;
h)
The policy shall be adopted by parliament and enacted into
law;
i)
A national youth coordinating mechanism shall be set up
as part of the governmental structure and shall provide
a platform for youth non-governmental organisations to participate
in youth policy making and youth development;
j)
The policy shall outline a national programme of action
that is time bound and that is connected to an implementation
and evaluation strategy for which indicators shall be outlined;
k)
Such a programme of action shall be accompanied by adequate
and sustained budgetary allocation.
Article
16: Education and Skills Development
1. Every
young person shall have the right to education of good quality.
2. The
value of multiple forms of education, including formal, non-formal,
informal, distance learning and life-long learning, to meet
the diverse needs of young people shall be embraced.
3. The
education of young people shall be directed to:
a)
The promotion and holistic development of the young person’s
cognitive and creative and emotional abilities to their
full potential;
b)
Fostering respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms
as set out in the provisions of the various African human
and people’s rights and international human rights
declarations and conventions;
c)
Preparing young people for responsible lives in free societies
that promote peace, understanding, tolerance, dialogue,
mutual respect and friendship among all nations and across
all groupings of people;
d)
The preservation and strengthening of positive African morals,
traditional values and cultures and the development of national
and African identity and pride;
e)
The development of respect for the environment and natural
resources;
f)
The development of life skills to function effectively in
society and include issues such as HIV/AIDS, reproductive
health, substance abuse prevention and cultural practices
that are harmful to the health of young girls and women
as part of the education curricula;
4. States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures with a view to
achieving full realisation of this right and shall, in particular:
a)
Provide free and compulsory basic education and take steps
to minimise the indirect costs of education;
b)
Make all forms of secondary education more readily available
and
accessible
by all possible means including progressively free;
c) Take steps to encourage regular school attendance and
reduce drop-out rates;
d)
Strengthen participation in and the quality of training
in science and technology;
e)
Revitalise vocational education and training relevant to
current and prospective employment opportunities and expand
access by developing centres in rural and remote areas;
f)
Make higher education equally accessible to all including
establishing distance learning centres of excellence;
g)
Avail multiple access points for education and skills development
including opportunities outside of mainstream educational
institutions e.g., workplace skills development, distance
learning, adult literacy and national youth service programmes;
h)
Ensure, where applicable, that girls and young women who
become pregnant or married before completing their education
shall have the opportunity to continue their education;
i) Allocate
resources to upgrade the quality of education delivered
and ensure that it is relevant to the needs of contemporary
society and engenders critical thinking rather than rote
learning;
j)
Adopt pedagogy that incorporates the benefits of and trains
young people in the use of modern information and communication
technology such that youth are better prepared for the world
of work;
k)
Encourage youth participation in community work as part
of education to build a sense of civic duty;
l)
Introduce scholarship and bursary programmes to encourage
entry into post-primary school education and into higher
education outstanding youth from disadvantaged communities,
especially young girls;
m) Establish
and encourage participation of all young men and young women
in sport, cultural and recreational activities as part of
holistic development;
n)
Promote culturally appropriate, age specific sexuality and
responsible parenthood education.
o)
Enable young people to study at any African university;
p)
Enable young people to work in any African country;
q)
Adopt preferential recruitment policies for African youth
with specialised skills amongst States Parties;
Article
17: Poverty Eradication and Socio-economic Integration of Youth
1. States
Parties shall: Recognise the right of young people to a standard
of living adequate for their holistic development.
2. Recognise
the right of young people to be free from hunger and shall
take individual or collective measures to:
a)
Enhance educational and cultural services in rural areas
to improve its attractiveness to young people;
b)
Train young people to take up agricultural production using
contemporary systems and promote the benefits of modern
information and communication technology to gain access
to existing and new markets;
c)
Provide grants of land to youth and youth organisations
for development purposes;
d)
Facilitate access to credit to promote youth participation
in agricultural and other sustainable livelihood projects;
e)
Facilitate the participation of young people in the design,
implementation and evaluation of national development plans,
policies and poverty reduction strategies.
3. Recognise
the right of every young person to benefit from social security,
including social insurance.
a)
In this regard, States Parties shall take the necessary measures
to achieve the full realisation of these rights in accordance
with their national law especially when the security of food
tenure, clothing, housing and other basic needs are compromised.
Article
18: Sustainable Livelihoods
1. Every young person shall have the right to gainful employment.
2. Every
young person shall have the right to be protected from economic
exploitation and from performing work that is likely to be
hazardous to or interfere with the young person’s education,
or to be harmful to the young person’s health or holistic
development.
3. States
Parties shall address and ensure the availability of accurate
data on youth unemployment and underemployment so as to facilitate
the prioritisation of the issue in National development programmes;
4. States
Parties shall take all appropriate measures with a view to
achieving full realisation of this right to gainful employment
and shall in particular:
a) Ensure
equal access to employment and equal pay for equal work
or equal value of work and offer protection against discrimination
regardless of ethnicity, race, gender, disability, religion,
political, social, cultural or economic background;
b)
Develop macroeconomic policies that focus on job creation
particularly for youth and for young women;
c)
Develop measures to regulate the informal economy to prevent
unfair labour practices where the majority of youth work;
d)
Foster greater linkages between the labour market and the
education and training system to ensure that curricula are
aligned to the needs of the labour market and that youth
are being trained in fields where employment opportunities
are available or are growing;
e) Implement
appropriately-timed career guidance for youth as part of
the schooling and post-schooling education system;
f)
Promote youth entrepreneurship by including entrepreneurship
training in the school curricula, providing access to credit,
business development skills training, mentorship opportunities
and better information on market opportunities;
g)
Institute incentive schemes for employers to invest in the
skills development of employed and unemployed youth;
h)
Institute national youth service programmes to engender
community participation and skills development for entry
into the labour market.
1. Every
young person shall have the right to enjoy the best attainable
state of physical, mental and spiritual health.
2. States
Parties shall undertake to pursue the full implementation
of this right and in particular shall take measures to:
a)
Make available equitable access to medical assistance and
health care especially in rural and poor urban areas with
an emphasis on the development of primary health care;
b) Provide
access to youth friendly reproductive health services including
contraceptives, antenatal and post natal services;
c)
Institute comprehensive programmes to prevent the transmission
of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS by providing
education, information, communication and awareness creation
as well as making protective measures such as condoms readily
available and accessible to young women and men;
d)
Expand the availability and encourage the uptake of voluntary
counselling and testing for HIV/AIDS;
e)
Provide timely access to treatment for young people infected
with HIV/AIDS including prevention of mother to child transmission,
post rape prophylaxis, and anti-retroviral therapy;
f)
Institute comprehensive programmes including legislative
steps to prevent unsafe abortions;
g)
Take legislative steps such as banning advertising and increasing
price in addition to instituting comprehensive preventative
and curative programmes to control the consumption of tobacco,
exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and alcohol abuse;
h)
Raise awareness amongst youth on the dangers of drug abuse
through partnerships with youth, youth organisations and
the community;
i)
Strengthen local, national, regional and international partnerships
to decrease the demand, supply and trafficking of drugs
including using youth to traffic drugs;
j)
Provide rehabilitation for young people abusing drugs such
that they can be re-integrated into social and economic
life;
Article
20: Peace and Security
1. In view of the important role of youth in promoting peace
and non-violence and the lasting physical and psychological
scars that result from involvement in violence, armed conflict
and war, States Parties shall:
a)
Strengthen the capacity of young people and youth organisations
in peace building, conflict prevention and conflict resolution
through the promotion of intercultural learning, civic education,
tolerance, human rights education and democracy, mutual
respect for cultural, ethnic and religious diversity, the
importance of dialogue and cooperation, responsibility,
solidarity and international cooperation;
b) Institute
steps to promote a culture of peace and tolerance amongst
young people that discourages their participation in acts
of violence, terrorism, xenophobia, racism, racial discrimination,
foreign occupation and trafficking in arms and drugs;
c) Institute education to promote a culture of peace and dialogue
in all schools and training centres at all levels ;
d)
Prevent through all means possible the participation, involvement
and recruitment of youth in armed conflict;
e) Take
all feasible measures to protect the civilian population,
including youth, who are affected and displaced by armed
conflict;
f)
Mobilise youth for the reconstruction of areas devastated
by war, bringing help to refugees and war victims and promoting
peace, reconciliation and rehabilitation activities;
g) Take
appropriate measures to promote physical and psychological
recovery and social reintegration of young victims of armed
conflict and war by providing access to education and skills
development such as vocational training to resume social
and economic life.
Article
21: Law Enforcement
1. Every
young person accused or found guilty of having infringed the
penal law shall have the right to be treated with humanity
and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.
2. States
Parties shall in particular:
a)
Ensure that youth who are detained or imprisoned are not
subjected to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment or
punishment;
b)
Ensure that accused youth, except in exceptional circumstances,
shall be segregated from convicted persons and shall be
subject to separate treatment appropriate to their status
as unconvicted persons;
c)
House accused and imprisoned juvenile youth separately from
adults;
d) Provide
induction programmes for youth that are based on reformation,
social rehabilitation and re-integration into family life;
e)
Make provisions for the continued education and skills development
of imprisoned young people as part of the restorative justice
process.
1. States
Parties shall ensure the use of sustainable methods to improve
the lives of young people such that measures instituted do
not jeopardise opportunities for future generations.
2. States
Parties shall recognise the vested interest of young people
in protecting the natural environment as the inheritors of
the environment. In this regard, they shall:
a)
Encourage the media, youth organisations, in partnership
with national and international organisations, to produce,
exchange and disseminate information on environmental degradation
and best practices to protect the environment;
b)
Train youth in the use of technologies that protect and
conserve the environment;
c)
Support youth organisations in instituting programmes that
encourage environmental preservation such as waste reduction,
recycling and tree planting programmes;
d)
Facilitate youth participation in the design, implementation
and evaluation of environmental policies including the conservation
of African natural resources at local, national, regional
and international levels;
Article 23: Youth and Culture
1. Every
young person shall have the right to access culture.
2. States
Parties shall take the following steps to promote and protect
the morals and traditional values recognised by the community:
a) Eliminate
traditional beliefs and practices such as female genital
mutilation that are an impediment to development, especially
customs and cultural practices that undermine the status
of women in society, while recognising and valuing those
beliefs and practices that contribute to development;
b)
Establish institutions for the development, documentation,
preservation and dissemination of culture;
c)
Work with educational institutions, youth organisations,
the media and other partners to raise awareness of and teach
and inform young people about African culture, values and
indigenous knowledge;
d)
Harness the creativity of youth to promote local cultural
values and traditions by representing them in a format acceptable
to youth and in a language and in forms to which youth are
able to relate.
e)
Introduce and intensify teaching in African languages in
all forms of education as a means to accelerate economic,
social, political and cultural development;
f)
Promote inter-cultural awareness by organising exchange
programmes between young people and youth organisations
within and across States Parties;
3. States
Parties recognise that the shift towards a knowledge-based
economy and society means that the pervasiveness of globalisation
and information and communication technology has created a
dynamic youth culture that entails a global consciousness
and redefined youth roles and identity. In this regard, they
shall:
a)
Promote widespread access to information and communication
technology as a means for education, employment creation,
interacting effectively with the world and building understanding,
tolerance and appreciation of other youth cultures;
b)
Encourage the local production of and access to information
and communication technology content;
c)
Engage young people and youth organisations to understand
the nexus between contemporary youth culture and traditional
African culture, and enable them to express this fusion
through drama, art, writing, music and other cultural and
artistic forms.
d)
Help young people to use elements of globalisation such
as science and technology and information and communication
technology to promote new cultural forms that link the past
to the future;
Article
24: Youth and work
States
Parties shall recognise the right of young people to live,
study and work anywhere in the world. In this regard, they
shall:
a)
Enable young people to study at any African university and
to work in any African country;
b)
Adopt preferential recruitment policies for African youth
with specialised skills amongst States Parties;
c)
Engage youth organisations to facilitate contact and collaboration
with the African youth Diaspora;
d)
Establish structures that encourage and assist the youth
in the diaspora to return to and fully re-integrate into
the social and economic life in Africa.
Article 25: Leisure, Recreation and Cultural Activities
1. Young
people shall have the right to rest and leisure and to engage
in play and recreational activities that are part of a health
lifestyle as well as to participate freely in sport, drama,
the arts, music and other forms of cultural life. In this
regard, States Parties shall:
a)
Make provision for equal access for young men and young
women to sport, cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure
activities;
b) Ensure
the availability of facilities in rural and urban areas
for youth to participate in sport, cultural, artistic, recreational
and leisure activities;
Article 26: Girls and Young Women
1. States
Parties recognise the ensuing discrimination against girls
and young women despite obligations stipulated in various
international and regional human rights and instruments designed
to protect and promote women’s rights. In this regard,
they shall:
a)
Introduce legislative measures that eliminate all forms
of discrimination against girls and young women and ensure
their human rights and fundamental freedoms;
b)
Ensure that girls and young women are able to participate
actively, equally and effectively with boys at all levels
of social, educational, economic, political and cultural
leadership as well as civic life;
c)
Institute programmes to make girls and young women aware
of their rights and of opportunities to participate as equal
members of society;
d) Ensure
universal and equal access to and completion of primary
education;
e)
Ensure equal access to vocational, secondary and higher
education as well as vocational training in order to effectively
address the existing imbalance between young men and women
in certain professions;
f)
Ensure that education material and teaching practices are
gender sensitive;
g)
Provide educational settings that do not impede girls and
young women, including married and/or pregnant girls and
young women, from attending;
h)
Take steps to provide equal access to health care services
and nutrition;
i)
Protect girls and young women from economic exploitation
and from performing work that is hazardous, takes them away
from education or that is harmful to their mental or physical
health;
j)
Offer equal access to young women to employment and promote
their participation in male-dominated sectors of employment;
k)
Introduce special legislation and programmes of action that
make available opportunities to girls and young women including
access to education as a prerequisite and a priority for
rapid social and economic development;
l)
Enact and enforce legislation that protect girls and young
women from all forms of violence, genital mutilation, incest,
rape, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, trafficking, prostitution
and pornography;
m)
Develop programmes of action that provide legal, physical
and psychological support to girls and young women who have
been subjected to violence and abuse such that they can
fully re-integrate into social and economic life.
Article
27: Disabled Youth
1. States
Parties recognise that mentally or physically disabled young
people shall have the right to enjoy a full and productive
life.
2. States
Parties recognise the right of disabled youth to special care
and ensure that disabled youth have equal and effective access
to education, training, health care services, employment and
sport, cultural and recreational activities such that disabled
youth can achieve their full potential to be socially integrated
and live an independent life.
Article 28: Minority Groups
Young
people from ethnic, religious and linguistic minority groups
or youth of indigenous origin shall be afforded the right,
in community with other members of their group, to enjoy their
own culture, to profess and practice their own religion or
to use their own language.
Article 29: Protection against Harmful Social and Cultural Practices
State
Parties shall take all appropriate steps to eliminate harmful
social and cultural practices that affect the welfare and
dignity of youth, in particular;
a) Customs
and practices that harm the health, life or dignity of the
youth;
b) Customs
and practices discriminatory to youth on the basis of gender,
age or other status;
Article 30: Responsibilities of Youth
Every
young person shall have responsibilities towards his family
and society, the State, other legally recognised communities
and the international community. Youth, subject to age, ability
and such limitations as may be contained in the present Charter,
shall have the duty to:
a) Become
the custodians of their own development;
b) Work
for and protect family life and cohesion, respect parents,
superiors and elders at all times and assist them in case
of need;
c) Partake
fully in citizenship duties including voting, decision making
and governance;
d) Engage
in peer-to-peer education to promote youth development in
areas such as literacy, use of information and communication
technology, HIV/AIDS prevention, violence prevention and peace
building;
e) Promote
the economic development of States Parties and Africa by placing
their physical and intellectual abilities at its service;
f) Espouse
an honest work ethic and reject and expose corruption;
g) Work
towards a society free from violence, coercion, crime, degradation,
exploitation and intimidation;
h) Promote
tolerance, understanding, dialogue, consultation and respect
for others regardless of age, race, ethnicity, colour, gender,
ability, religion, status or political affiliation;
i) Defend
democracy, the rule of law and all human rights and fundamental
freedoms;
j) Promote
patriotism towards and unity and cohesion of Africa;
k) Promote,
preserve and respect African traditions and cultural heritage
and pass on this legacy to future generations;
l) Become
the vanguard of re-presenting cultural heritage in languages
and in forms to which youth are able to relate;
m) Protect
the environment and conserve nature.
Article
31: Awareness of the Charter
States
Parties shall have the duty to promote and ensure through
teaching, education and publication, the respect of rights,
responsibilities and freedoms contained in the present Charter
and to see to it that these freedoms, rights and responsibilities
as well as corresponding obligations and duties are understood.
Article
32: Duties of the African Union
The African
Union shall assist States Parties to fulfil the duties outlined
in the present Charter by;
a) Collaborating
with governmental and non-governmental institutions to identify
best practices on youth policy formulation and implementation
and encouraging the adaptation of principles and experiences
among States Parties;
b)
Inviting States Parties to include youth representatives
as part of their delegations to the ordinary sessions and
other relevant meetings of the policy organs to broaden
the channels of communication and enhance the discussion
of youth-related issues;
c)
Instituting measures to create awareness of its activities
and make information on its activities more readily available
and accessible to youth;
d)
Facilitating exchange and co-operation between youth organisations
across national borders in order to develop regional youth
solidarity, political consciousness and democratic participation.
PART 2: ESTABLISHMENT AND ORGANISATION OF THE AFRICAN
UNION YOUTH COMMISSION
Article 33: The African Union Youth Commission
Article 34: Reporting Mechanism in Countries
Article 35: Monitoring and Evaluation Mechanism AU
Article
36: Saving clause
Nothing
in this Charter shall be taken as minimising higher standards
and values contained in other relevant human rights instruments
ratified by States concerned or rational law or policies.
Article 37: Signature, Ratification or Adherence
1.The present Charter shall be open to signature by all the
Member States.
2. The present Charter shall be subject to ratification or accession
by Member States. The instrument of ratification or accession
to the present Charter shall be deposited with the Chairperson
of the Commission.
3. The present Charter shall come into force thirty (30) days
after the deposit with the Chairperson of the Commission of
the instruments of ratification of fifteen (15) Member States.
Article X: Amendment and Revision of the Charter
1. The present Charter may be amended or revised if any State
Parties makes a written request to that effect to the Chairperson
of the Commission, provided that the proposed amendment is not
submitted to the Assembly of the Union for consideration until
all States Parties have been duly notified of it and the African
Union Youth Commission has given its opinion on the amendment.
2. An amendment shall be approved by a simple majority of the
Member States. Such amendment shall come into force for each
Member States that has ratified or acceded to it on the date
of the deposit of its instrument of ratification.
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