AU calls for greater involvement of youth in decision making
National
By
Julius Chepkwony
| Aug 18, 2026
The African Union has launched a Pan-African Youth Framework on Youth, Peace and Climate Justice, calling for greater involvement of young people in decision-making on Africa’s peace, security and climate challenges.
The framework was launched during a high-level International Youth Day convening hosted by the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the United Nations in New York and organised through the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) Diaspora.
The meeting was chaired by Ambassador Mohamed Edrees, Permanent Observer of the African Union to the United Nations.
The launch also highlighted Kenya’s growing role in continental youth policy, with New York-based Kenyan international human rights lawyer Lanji Ouko-Awori serving as a co-author of the framework alongside Alicia Clark, Director of Global Partnerships at the Center for Global Africa, USA, and Co-Chair of the AWLN Diaspora Consortium.
Ouko-Awori is a Founding Steering Committee Member and Youth, Peace and Security Lead of the AWLN Diaspora Consortium.
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The framework was developed following consultations and ongoing engagement with youth-led organisations in more than 15 African countries. Its authors said the approach was intended to ensure that the framework reflects different security, climate and social realities across the continent.
“When we set out to build this Framework, we made a deliberate choice: no chapter would be written from a desk alone,” Ouko-Awori said during the launch.
He said the process recognised that security challenges vary from one country to another, noting that “insecurity in Chad does not look like insecurity in Kenya.”
The framework calls for young people to move beyond being consulted on policy and instead be supported to design, lead and implement solutions to challenges affecting their communities.
Ambassador Edrees said the African Union considers young people central to the continent’s development and governance.
“At the African Union, we consider our young people not as beneficiaries of development, but as its architects,” he said.
He cited the African Union’s Agenda 2063, ‘The Africa We Want’, which places youth empowerment and inclusion at the centre of the continent’s vision of an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa.
The African Women Leaders Network, an African Union and United Nations initiative established in 2017, seeks to strengthen women’s leadership across Africa and the Diaspora. Its Diaspora chapter was formally launched in March 2024 during the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York.
The New York launch brought together diplomats, policymakers, youth advocates and experts working on climate, water, peace, security and community resilience.
Participants included Mme. Bineta Diop, African Union Special Envoy on Women, Peace and Security and Convener of the African Women Leaders Network, and Chioniso Michelle Murinda, Global Co-Chair of the AWLN Youth Caucus.
Kenyan entrepreneur and youth leader Eric Muli from Machakos County also participated in a panel discussion alongside Rakiya Abby-Farrah and Dr. Jame McCray. The session was moderated by Kenyan Advocate of the High Court and New York Attorney at Law Annette Mugambi.
The programme featured youth-led innovations and discussions on how governments, regional institutions, development partners and the international community can move from recognising youth leadership to providing resources and opportunities for young people to lead.
Organisers said the launch marks the beginning of a year-long implementation and engagement process, including plans for a proposed Pan-African Youth Assembly.