Youth participation in peacebuilding in post-conflict northern Uganda

Abstract

The study examined the role of youth in building peaceful, democratic and inclusive societies in postconflict settings. This was in an attempt to rectify a situation in which, in war, youth and children are traditionally viewed as participants, witnesses and victims, but in post-conflict situations, they are left out in peacebuilding process. Using participatory action research, the research draws upon direct voices of youth to understand how youth perceive and relate to peacebuilding processes and outcomes in northern Uganda. Data was collected through review of secondary data, interviews, focus group discussion and observation. The study revealed that about half of the young people in the study had participated in peacebuilding interventions, and valued their participation because they were also victims of conflicts and disputes, and wished to self-discover, improve their self-esteem, and secure the future of their communities. Despite these positive perceptions, the majority of the youth believed that they lacked the space and support to harness their potential to build and sustain peace. The study identifies conflict and structural violence, youth’s acceptance, internalisation and buttressing of the barriers to their participation in peacebuilding, and negative community perceptions and stereotypes of youth as having hindered youth action to positively change their lives. Together, these barriers help to explain why despite significant investment by government and NGOs, many youths fail to translate programmes and policies into long-term benefits for their communities, thus placing Lira District and northern Uganda in general perilously between war and peace. Additionally, the results of the peacebuilding project demonstrated that a youth-led initiative can be effective and a source of hope for peace if it is supported by a network of stakeholders. Therefore, the focus should be to take advantage of the capability and agency of young people to address the root causes of the inadequacy and ineffectiveness of youth participation, and to reflect on peacebuilding actions in order to realize and sustain positive peacebuilding outcomes. Finally, the study makes policy and practice recommendations, poses new questions, and points to possibilities for future work with youth.