13 March 2008
Maputo — The Mozambican parliament, the Assembly of the Republic, on Thursday voted unanimously to ratify the African Youth Charter, a document approved by the heads of state summit of the African Union in Banjul in 2006.
The charter lays out a series of rights for young people (defined as those aged between 15 and 35). Thus it states that "every young person shall have the right to free association and freedom of peaceful assembly in conformity with the law, that "every young person shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion", and that "every young person has the right to leave any country, including his/her own, and to return to his/her country".
The document declares that "every young person shall have the right to gainful employment", and "shall have the right to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing work that is likely to be hazardous to or interfere with the young person's education, or to be harmful to the young person's health or holistic development".
Young people are assured the right ":to express their ideas and opinions freely in all matters and to disseminate their ideas and opinions", but the charter then adds the words "subject to the restrictions as are prescribed by laws" - and in countries where there is heavy censorship, or where religious intolerance is the norm, such restrictions could be very severe.
The document takes a strong anti-discriminatory line, declaring "every young person shall be entitled to the enjoyments of the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in this charter irrespective of their race, ethnic group, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status."
States that sign up to the charter are obliged to "take appropriate measures to ensure that youth are protected against all forms of discrimination on the basis of status, activities, expressed opinions or beliefs". They must also "recognize the rights of young people from ethnic, religious and linguistic marginalized groups or youth of indigenous origin, to enjoy their own culture, freely practice their own religion or to use their own language in community with other members of their group"
States must also "provide access to information and education and training for young people to learn their rights and responsibilities, to be schooled in democratic processes, citizenship, decision-making, governance and leadership such that they develop the technical skills and confidence to participate in these processes".
A further duty imposed by the Charter is that states must "give priority to policies and programmes including youth advocacy and peer-to-peer programmes for marginalised youth, such as out-of-school and out-of-work youth, to offer them the opportunity and motivation to re-integrate into mainstream society".
States that ratify also undertake to provide free and compulsory primary education and to "make all forms of secondary education more readily available and accessible by all possible means including progressively free",
They should "revitalise vocational education and training relevant to current and prospective employment opportunities and expand access by developing centres in rural and remote areas".
Introducing the ratification motion, the Minister of Youth and Sport, David Simango, said the charter present ideals that are in line with the Mozambican Constitution, and with the government's policy towards young people.
"It gives a vision of the constructive involvement of young people in development programmes, and encourages their effective participation in debates and decision making about the development of the continent", he declared.
On this issue there was no division between deputies from the ruling Frelimo Party and those from the opposition. The charter was ratified unanimously, and the Assembly also adopted a proposal to set up a parliamentary group on youth matters.
The Assembly's agenda for Thursday originally included the ratification of two environmental conventions - the African Union's Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, and the United Nations Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species.
However, Prime Minister Luisa Diogo sent the Assembly a letter requesting a postponement of the discussion of these documents. This was inevitable because Environment Minister Luciano de Castro, who ought to have presented these documents, was sacked on Monday, and the new minister, Alcinda Abreu, has not yet been sworn in to office.
This simple letter sparked off anger from the benches of the opposition Renamo-Electoral Union coalition who accused the government of sabotaging the Assembly's agenda. Frelimo deputies, however, though it perfectly normal for such requests to be made, and so the ratification of the two documents was duly postponed.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
