Africa-Press – Mauritius. Some 30 Youth representatives from Universities and Youth Clubs participated, today, in a half-day workshop on the theme ‘The Participation Lab: Empowered to Participate’ which was held at Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel, Port Louis.
Organised jointly by the Human Rights Division under the aegis of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation, the aim was to empower young participants and ensure they are equipped with the knowledge and capacity necessary to claim their rights and particularly the right to participate in public affairs, including in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The training aimed to facilitate an exchange between the officials from the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation and young participants on good practices and challenges faced by the youth in participating in decision-making and provide an opportunity for young people to share feedback and recommendations with relevant authorities.
Furthermore, this awareness-raising event allowed them to become “participation multipliers”, who can take the acquired knowledge about the right to participate to their communities and act as participation champions.
In her address, the Senior Chief Executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mrs Asha Burrenchobay, who intervened on behalf of Minister Alan Ganoo, underlined that in this digital era, young people are not only connected to each other but are also facing challenges and life-threatening risks as well as inter-personal violence due to the impacts of disasters.
She affirmed that it is only by engaging and working with them, supporting them in standing up for their rights and creating conditions allowing them to progress and play an active role that the international community will be able to achieve peace, security, justice, climate resilience and sustainable development for all.
Mrs Burrenchobay further stated that the UN through its Youth Strategy is committed to protect and promote the rights of young people and support their civic and political engagement as well as to benefit from their views, insights and ideas.
Against this backdrop, the OHCHR is committed to promoting participation of youth in public affairs and ensuring young people are empowered to claim their rights, she added.
Acknowledging that civic and political participation must be nurtured during formative years in young people’s lives, the Senior Chief Executive said that young people’s empowerment, development, and engagement is an end in itself as well as a means to build a better world.
Also present, the UN Resident Coordinator, Mrs Christine Umutoni, emphasised that young people across the world contribute to the resilience of their communities, proposing innovative solutions and driving social progress.
To ensure they are protected and enabled to do so, the UN has committed through the UN Youth Strategy to facilitate action to address the needs, build the agency and advance the rights of young people, she said.
Speaking about the Strategy, Ms Umutoni underlined that it has committed the UN to protect and promote the rights of young people and support their civic and political engagement.
The Strategy also stresses the UN’s commitment to promote the engagement, participation and advocacy of youth to ensure their voice is amplified, she added. She further dwelt on the importance of the Guidelines on the effective implementation of the right to participate in public affairs.
She underlined that they provide concrete recommendations on the measures necessary to ensure a conducive environment to public participation and on how to make sure the public is involved at every stage of decision-making, at both the national and supranational level.
The Guidelines also outline how the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, including the right of access to information, the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and the right to access to justice are crucial to the full enjoyment of the right to participate in public affairs, she said.
The Participation Lab The Lab comprised short presentations to trigger interactive discussions and sharing of experience. The training was designed and led by experts from OHCHR.
The topics covered included: Participation as a human right (advantages, linkages with other rights, international and national recognition); the UN Guidelines on Participation: a practical tool to make participation real; and youth participation in Mauritius-discussion on good practices and practical challenges. The training session was designed and led by experts from OHCHR as well as a national expert.
For More News And Analysis About Mauritius Follow Africa-Press
