Antem Anthony:
Christian, what is your assessment of Cameroon’s progress in implementing the youth peace and security agenda?
Christian Achaleke:
Well, if we’re to look at the current progress of the youth peace and security agenda in Cameroon, I would say that Cameroon is on a very solid path. The reason why things are not happening too fast is because, with the context where we have two security issues, usually policies of this nature, in countries that are in difficulties, it takes more time because the intention has to be there, and it takes multiple partners to reflect. So far, we have the Ministry of Youth that’s taking the lead. We’ve had several reflections building on the country’s interest in this conversation since 2015, which means that we are in a process where we don’t want to rush to tick the box, but [also] in a process where we want to develop a policy document, which will add up to already existing things that are in the country, something that will be able to track the impact and see the value for involving young people in peacebuilding.
AA:
Given that this process requires concerted efforts, how can stakeholders support the implementation of this agenda?
CA:
I think that engaging stakeholders is very critical in a process like this, especially since there have already been actions around peacebuilding happening. So engaging stakeholders first means we want to tap into existing knowledge, best practices, and data which is existing to ensure that we don’t reinvent the wheel, to ensure that in the implementation we don’t keep some people out or make some people feel they were not valued enough. I think that’s the first reflection.
The second reflection is to also leverage on knowledge and capacity that you have from other stakeholders, which is a very important thing in the YPS process because we realize that policies usually take a longer time to be implemented because people have capacity gaps.
The third thing is, in terms of resources, developing YPS is very critical, but unfortunately, the investment in YPS is still very low. So, bringing these stakeholders opens up the door for us to be able to tap into financial resources to invest in young people’s efforts and to invest in driving this policy.
And finally, bringing multiple stakeholders works when it comes to giving legitimacy, credibility, and buy-in for something like this. Because it concerns young people, usually there’s already that, oh, young people are troublemakers; they might not be valuable on security conversation, on peacebuilding conversation. But when we have these stakeholders, it shows the importance; it gives credibility and ensures that people buy into it more. So, I think this is the importance of having stakeholders.
AA:
Beautiful. And because this agenda is principally centered on youths, why should Cameroonian youth have an interest in this? What is in it for the youth in this agenda?
CA:
I think the way the agenda has been shaped is not a typical peacebuilding agenda, as people might feel. It’s an inclusive process towards building peace, meaning that this agenda will make us see the importance of providing jobs because when there are no jobs, young people might get into crime or violence. That is the strength that this agenda is coming to add. So, the importance is that it will go a long way to reinforce already existing conversations. We have a national youth policy, which is in the process of being updated, and several other instruments which are existing in Cameroon. But usually, these instruments do not come from young people’s perspective and from a peace and security angle, considering that with insecurity and violence, even businesses will not thrive, there will be no companies, [and] governors will not be able to work.
Look at the case of Bangladesh, where the country was shut down. So, the importance of this agenda is that it strengthens the need for a holistic approach to put young people at the center of solving the issues that take countries into conflicts. So, this is the importance of this agenda.
AA:
What are your thoughts regarding the Emerging Leaders Program?
CA:
Well, I joined this forum with a lot of knowledge about it. You know, the emerging leaders concept is very important, bringing leaders from different walks of life to reflect on key issues. And the fact that there was a conversation on peacebuilding meant that the organizers were aware of the importance of peace as a bedrock. And for the time that I’ve spent here, I realized that it’s a combination of core values, practices, experience sharing, and also theory to be able to edify these young people. And I think this is what is missing in our context, you know? So, I feel this young leaders program is becoming a platform where it will be a combination of stories, best practices, you know, theory, and practice to be able to shape young people, which is something that we need.
AA:
Any word of advice for the 20 Emerging Leaders?
CA:
Well, my word of advice I shared earlier in the room during my presentation: to tell them that they need to give their best and that [building] peace in the country is not the job of particular people. It’s for all of us, for those who are working on creating jobs, those who are working on information technology, those who are working on climate change. Let us all see ourselves as peacebuilders because it is this little contribution that we make that can put our country on a good footing.
And to conclude, my reflection is that the country is more in difficulty. Look at the economy; look at security; look at governance; look at politics. These groups of people, [whether] young or old, must be ready to work with the generation ahead of us so that together we can build this country stronger from an intergenerational perspective.
Antem Anthony
Antem Anthony is a Policy Analyst in peace & security at the Foretia Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, he served as conflict, policy and security assistant at the International Crisis Group, Kenya. Anthony is a certified administrative and operations professional from the United Nations University for Peace and the Pan African Institute for Development, West Africa (PAID-WA)
Christian Achaleke
Achaleke Christian Leke is an international development, peacebuilding and violent extremism expert with 15 years of experience working as a practitioner, researcher and academic, born and raised in Cameroon. He holds an MSc in Conflict Security and Development from the University of Birmingham. Building on his childhood experiences, Christian has developed into a fine asset in International relations and development, humanitarian, peacebuilding, conflict prevention and counter violent extremism responses.
