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NELSON MANDELA METROPOLE Declaration
ON
THE DEVELOPMENT OF CITIZENSHIP AMONG YOUTH IN CONFLICT WITH THE LAW
ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT.
We are meeting in
Nelson Mandela Metropole, South Africa, on the occasion of the
International Conference on “Developing citizenship amongst youth in
conflict with the law on the African Continent”, June 17 to 19 2002.
We are representatives
of national governments, cities and municipalities, civil society
organisations working with youth at risk, the research community and
multi-national experts, the police, magistrates and youth leaders,
international networks and United Nations agencies from five continents,
twenty one countries and thirty five cities and municipalities.
We adhere to the
recommendations put forth in:
Ø
the World
Youth Forums of the UN system, Vienna 1994 and 1996, Braga 1998 and Dakar
2001
Ø
the World
Conference of Ministers in Charge of Youth, Lisbon 1998
Ø
the World
Programme of Action for Youth to the year 2000 and beyond
(UN 1996)
Ø
the
Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990)
Ø
the OAU
Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child (2000)
Ø
Guidelines
for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (Riyadh 1990)
Ø
Minimum
Standard Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (Beijing, 1985)
Ø
UN Child
Summit (New York 2002)
Ø
UN Guidelines
on Crime Prevention (Vienna 2002).
We affirm the
principles of the Habitat II Conference (1996) where national governments
for the first time recognized local governments, civil society, business
communities, youths, women, and other local stakeholders as equal partners
in the decision making process that affects human settlements. The
conference resulted in a global plan of action known as the Habitat
Agenda, which stipulates that youth should play an active and creative
role in building sustainable communities and be accepted as a key partner
for the implementation process.
GIVEN THAT:
The continued
deterioration of the status of youth worldwide and as it applies in
Africa, facing growing levels of unemployment, poverty, armed conflict,
epidemic diseases (and in particular HIV/AIDS), functional illiteracy and
substance abuse – among other social and economic challenges - places
youth at risk in society.
Youth violence – in
particular in urban areas – has increased and the age of entry into
delinquency is decreasing. Since the 1980’s, countries in the South have
witnessed the growing phenomena of child abuse, street children, youth
gangs, school dropouts, widespread social exclusion and civil wars
involving child soldiers aggravating the situation of youth crime.
Violence has become a serious threat to the well being, personal
development and health of young people.
Youth crime and
violence occurs in different contexts, has multiple causes and requires
multiple responses. The various causes should be analysed locally, both in
the urban and rural context and responses developed locally through the
joint efforts of key civic and neighbourhood actors. Youth are a positive
and undeniable force in society and have enormous potential for
contributing to the development of societies.
GUIDED BY THE
PRINCIPLES OF:
Ø
Sustainable
and economic development,
networking and
cooperation across the continent of Africa. Policy and strategy
regarding youth and in particular youth in conflict with the law should be
aligned with and central to the policies and strategies of NEPAD.
Ø
Inclusive
partnerships
at international, regional, national and local levels, between intra and
inter-governmental, non-governmental and community based organisations as
well as partnerships with individuals and civil society and in particular
the youth.
Ø
Targeted
investment in youth must begin in the early childhood years.
Ø
Social
development and an end to exclusion
through a comprehensive
range of environmental, educational, economic, judicial, social and
infrastructural strategies to promote respect for the rule of law,
commitment to strong social fabric and a healthy and peaceful lifestyle.
Ø
Full and
inclusive participation of youth
in civic affairs; youth must be empowered to participate effectively in
decision-making processes. The civic capital of marginalized youth must be
recognized and supported.
Ø
Good
governance
including accountability, sustainability, monitoring, evaluation and
feedback regarding strategies, policies, programmes and interventions.
Ø
Family
as it is understood
in the African context, to include extended family and community members
as appropriate.
WE THEREFORE APPEAL:
To National Governments
Ø
To implement
legislation to protect human rights as they relate to youth.
Ø
To adopt and
implement social crime prevention policies and programmes, and
allocate financial resources for the prevention, protection,
rehabilitation and reintegration, as appropriate, for children and youth
in disadvantaged social conditions and who are at risk.
Ø
Give high
priority to marginalized, vulnerable and disadvantaged youth,
especially those who are separated from their families, children living or
working on the streets.
Ø
To devolve
and decentralize some responsibilities for criminal justice to the
local authorities and set up mechanisms for local authorities to be
actively involved in preventing youth crime and reintegrating young
offenders.
Ø
To ensure that
issues of youth in conflict with the law are central to national youth
policies.
To Local Governments
Ø
To mobilize
partners and recommend the formulation and review of integrated, gender
sensitive and cross-sectoral youth policies at the local level
addressing substance abuse, street children, youth gangs, young offenders
and restorative justice, involving all stakeholders, especially youth.
Youth issues should not be treated in isolation, but mainstreamed into all
policy making.
Ø
To allocate
local funds, develop strategies and implement social integration
programmes with particular focus on youth at risk of marginalization,
including among others: youth affected by violence (including violence
against women), youth affected by drug and substance abuse and young
offenders. Offering renewed and continuous learning and training
opportunities for youth is paramount.
Ø
To develop
mechanisms promoting youth participatory decision-making, fostering
responsible citizenship and promoting technical, human and financial
support focused on assisting marginalized and vulnerable youth to address
their own needs and interests and make their particular contribution to
social progress.
To
the Criminal Justice System:
Ø
To promote the
establishment of prevention, support and caring services as well as
justice systems specifically applicable to children and youth taking into
account the principles of restorative justice; fully safeguarding
children’s rights and promoting youth’s reintegration into society.
Ø
To recognize and
ensure that alternatives to institutionalization are the highest
priority in determining correctional measures. Efforts should be made to
reunite youth with their families. Traditional peace and conflict
resolution mechanisms should be amongst the tools used for dealing with
juvenile justice, offender rehabilitation and reintegration.
Ø
To put in place
sensitization and integrated multi-sectoral training programmes on
the special needs of children and youth, ensuring that their rights
accorded under international and national law are enforced by all service
providers.
Ø
To work towards
the establishment of youth courts with multi-sectoral, dedicated
service providers.
Ø
To take steps to
provide youth with free legal and other assistance in court.
Magistrates should make special efforts to ensure that youth understand
the nature of the proceedings, the status and disposition of their cases.
Parents or family members should take part in the proceedings.
Ø
To affirm the
important role that families, peers, schools and communities play
in youth development. Family must be supported and strengthened so as to
participate effectively in youth justice, offender reintegration and crime
prevention.
Ø
To explore
alternative ways of diverting youth from criminal activities and substance
abuse, gang-related activities and crime through targeted mentoring,
cultural, and educational programmes and also through sports and
recreational activities.
To Youth in Society
and Youth Organisations:
Ø
To take the lead
in peer-to-peer training to stimulate, support and facilitate the
role of marginalized and vulnerable youth in the wider society,
recognising that young people are the best agents for delivering positive
change for other young people.
Ø
To network
and develop and institutionalise mechanisms for sustained youth
empowerment and participation in decision-making at all levels, with
particular emphasis on local-to-local exchanges.
Ø
To mobilize
and promote awareness on the causes and costs of social exclusion and
to promote programmes that foster social integration.
To Local Communities:
Ø
To ensure that
the family is supported as the cornerstone of the community.
Ø
To facilitate
the integration of youth into society through education, providing
support, transmitting values and contributing to the development of young
women and men into responsible adults.
Ø
To act as an
agent of socialization and provide local and accessible role models,
building on traditional forms of social control including conflict
resolution and mediation, traditional laws, ethnic values and religion.
In support of the
above, to United Nations Agencies and the International Community:
Ø
To build an
effective culture of peace through education and training, aimed at
social progress, fighting inequalities and recognising the importance of
dialogue and co-operation.
Ø
To provide
technical and/or financial assistance in order to establish and
promote programmes for youth development and the rehabilitation and
reintegration of youth in conflict with the law.
Ø
Develop and
promote networks and exchanges to enhance the capacity of youth.
Promote and enable the exchange of experiences and information between
youth, especially young people living in extreme poverty and those
requiring protection from violence, in particular young women.
Ø
To promote
awareness-raising campaigns reinforcing positive behaviours and seek
to transform negative practices in a constructive and positive way in
young people, including marginalized and excluded youth.
Ø
To advocate
and promote capacity building by contributing to the development,
documentation, adaptation, dissemination and replication of good practices
and tools
RESOLVE TO
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Establish a
network of cities and youth at the local, national, sub-regional and
regional level in Africa, with a functioning secretariat, with the
objective of promoting community-wide participation and partnership
approaches as crucial to the accurate assessment of the problem of youth
in conflict with the law, the identification of viable solutions and the
formulation and implementation of appropriate strategies, policies and
programmes.
Ø
Establish a
(bi-annual) forum for regional exchanges of experiences on
restorative justice approaches and youth empowerment models in the
framework of city-to-city cooperation.
Ø
Present
and further explore the conference outcomes at the Youth Employment
Summit and the World Summit for Sustainable Development to be held
this year in Alexandria and Johannesburg respectively, as well as the 5th
World Youth Forum of the United Nations system.
Ø
Call on
all African governments to develop programmes to give African youth a
meaningful voice in governance.
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