The NEWS (Monrovia)
13 January 2004
Monrovia — The National Youth Secretariat says the goal of making Liberia an armed-free society is not achievable without the full participation of Liberian youths who constitute a significant portion of combatants in the Country.
A release quotes the Assistant Director for Administration of the Secretariat Jarlawah A. Tonpo as saying that to have a lasting peace and total disarmament program it would require the full participation of Liberian youths who are direct victims of war.
Mr. Tonpo believes this would avoid the reoccurrence of young people taking up arms against their fellow countrymen.
"We know our colleagues and they know us and they would embrace working with us", he said.
According to the release, nothing has been heard about the role and the inclusion of the youths in the implementation of the disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration (DDRR) program.
Consequently, the Youth Secretariat, under the office of the Youth Representative in the National Transitional Legislative Assembly, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports and other umbrella youth groups including the Federation of Liberian Youth(FLY) and the Liberia National Student Union(LINSU) has submitted a proposal titled the "Role of the Youth Representative and Youth Groups in the DDRR Program to the UN Mission in Liberia, the Government and the Commission on Disarmament, among others.
The youths want their proposal approved because they are able to provide the requisite motivation to their colleagues in arms to permanently abandon the culture of violence and embrace opportunities for educational, economic and social advancement through their initiative.
Accordingly, the issues of civic education, reconciliation and peace building initiatives, information and community sensitization as well as recreational activities are highlighted in the proposal.
These activities, the Secretariat said, are expected to be coordinated by a joint implementation committee comprising representatives of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Secretariat and other umbrella youth and student organizations.
The release further said consultations with specialized youth groups have already begun and the process of selecting potential institutions to oversee the implementation of the DDRR activities was in process.
The Joint Implementation Committee will be allowed to carefully analyze and store all data needed as part of information necessary for the formulation of a national youth policy document.
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