Remarks by UN Resident Coordinator Babatunde Ahonsi at National Youth Summit

Your Excellency the Vice President

Ministers of Government  

The Paramount Chief and elders

The Chair of the District Council

Colleague members of the Diplomatic Corps & Development Partners

Colleague UN Heads of Agencies

The Youth Representatives

Our esteemed young people

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,

We are witnesses to the largest generation of young people in history, and in many developing countries, they make up the largest proportion of the population. According to the United Nations in 2019, the global youth population of 15-24 years was 1.2 billion, representing 16 percent of the total population. This is projected to increase to 1.4 billion by 2065. In Sierra Leone, the youth aged between 15-35 years constitutes 39.4 percent of the country’s population.

I have recently had the privilege to speak at the Youth2030 Envoy’s global briefing to the UN Member States. Sierra Leone is one of the 10 Fast Track countries that are implementing the UN Youth2030 Strategy and with me, spoke Umu, a young Sierra Leonean woman, who was a survivor of female genital mutilation. She addressed global leaders, including the UN Deputy Secretary-General and posed the following statement: “The question is not whether young people can significantly contribute towards sustainable development. The question is whether,

1. You believe they can
2. There’s an enabling environment for them to do so
3. You are willing to understand and provide the tools and skills needed for them to do so.”

As we ponder on this National Youth Summit’s theme, harnessing the future of Sierra Leone through the investments in youth, I clearly hear Umu’s challenge to each one of us. In congratulating the youth of Sierra Leone and the rest of the continent on African Youth Day, on behalf of the UN Country Team, I must say to Umu and all the Sierra Leonean youth—we have heard you loud and clear.

While commending the Government of Sierra Leone for its development priorities that include investment in the sectors and areas that significantly benefit young people, particularly the emphasis on human capital development, we must engage young people to have a sense of belonging and ‘stakeholdership’. They should be seen as both active agents and full beneficiaries of Sierra Leone’s quest for rapid economic growth and social transformation. 

It is one thing to listen to the concerns of Umu and the very many other concerns of young people. It is another to sit at the same table with them and trust them entirely to help find solutions to issues affecting themselves and the future of Sierra Leone.

The UN Country Team applauds the Government and its partners for developing the 2021 National Youth Strategy. Of significant milestones for us are its three key priority areas. 

1. Increasing access to livelihood opportunities, 
2. Review legal frameworks and address continued marginalisation and infantilisation of youth, multiple gendered violence and discrimination against female youth, harmful migration, substance abuse, and
3. Increase youth participation in policy discussions and development.

The UN, therefore, affirms its commitment to the AU roadmap on harnessing the demographic dividend through investments in youth. The youth dividend, if properly harnessed, can present catalytic opportunities. For that to happen, Government and partners have to collaborate to first address the challenges youth face, such as; high unemployment; inadequate competitive technical skills for the labour market; limited access to productive assets; lack of technologies and financial resources; and stigmatization and discrimination of youth with disabilities and youth-at-risk, who may be associated with cliques and gangs.

The aims of this Summit are aligned to the Medium National Term Development Plan (2019-2023). Similarly, these are well articulated in our United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation framework and the Sustainable Development Goals to a greater extent. To effectively coordinate youth interventions, the UNCT has activated a Youth Task Force Team through the technical co-leadership of UNFPA and UNDP to coordinate youth issues. The UN has also supported the implementation of the National Youth Service (NYS) scheme, where young graduates are placed in various institutions to gain work experience.

Additionally, the UN Secretary- General’s report on “Our Common Agenda” launched on 10th September 2021 includes concrete proposals on how the UN and the international system can be better positioned to address the needs of the youth today and protect the interests of future generations.

It is, therefore, my wish that the young people would use this summit to discuss issues around employment and entrepreneurship, education and skills development, health and wellbeing and, rights, governance, and youth empowerment to define a Sierra Leone that they would want not only for themselves but for the next generation.

This Summit is a moment that the youth should capitalise on to further build the Sierra Leone you want.

I thank you. 

I thank you.