This is according to Aya Chebbi, the youth envoy to the African Union’s (AU).

Chebbi, who comes from Morocco, told the UN Security Council (UNSC) in New York on Wednesday, during a meeting on peace and security in line with a flagship AU project to Silence the Guns by 2020, that if the youth’s potential contribution to society wasn’t recognised the youth would not turn away from violence.

The meeting, which was convened under South Africa’s presidency for the month, follows a vision laid out by African leaders to end all gun violence in Africa by 2020 and to end all wars on the continent by 2063.

This commitment was endorsed by the UNSC through resolution 2457 in February and outlines steps to achieve continent-wide peace through international support.

Youth - persons aged between 15 and 24 – make up 1.2 billion of the world's population, 600 million of whom live in violent regions. Roughly 20% of the population of the African continent falls within this age range.

African News Agency (ANA)