The Sahel region hosts the world’s youngest and fastest growing population. The demographic transition taking place in the region is met with a significant demand for socio-economic opportunities for youth, to enable them to pursue and lead meaningful lives. However, multifaceted and complex threats related to violent extremism are persistent challenges for Sahel’s youth population. Young people without access to education, vocational training, or employment are at an increased risk of becoming vulnerable to narratives and activities that propagate intolerance and glorify violence.
Despite this vulnerability, the youth in the region also possess significant potential to contribute positively towards driving the changes that their communities need. By engaging and supporting the youth in the Sahel region, they can be empowered to lead and support locally driven projects that foster a culture of peace and build resilience against violent extremism.
Violent extremism stands in stark contrast to the fundamental principles upon which the United Nations was founded. The UN Secretary General’s Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism highlights youth empowerment as a priority recommendation. It calls upon Member States to support and enhance youth participation in activities aimed at preventing violent extremism (PVE) by prioritizing meaningful engagement mechanisms at the national, regional, and global levels. Promoting a whole-of-society approach to preventing violent extremism, the Plan of Action also recommends involving young women and men in decision-making processes at local and national levels, as well as fostering trust between decision-makers and young people.
Against this background, UNODC is supporting Member States’ efforts in the Sahel to engage the youth in the prevention of violent extremism. Building on the outcomes of national consultative meetings held in March 2024, during which national counterparts from Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger confirmed their support for and need of a regional PVE network, UNODC conducted the first regional meeting on “Supporting the development of a regional network focusing on youth in the prevention of violent extremism in the Sahel (SAHEL-PVE)” in Burkina Faso on 26-27 June 2024. This meeting brought together over 30 participants from the three Sahelian countries, including government representatives, civil society stakeholders, and youth leaders, to discuss the development of a PVE practitioners' network in the Sahel (SAHEL-PVE), its structure and objectives, and to foster a comprehensive approach in its operationalisation and implementation. Participants also stressed the need for the initiative to be conceived in parallel with the strengthening of existing national coordination mechanisms in the three countries, harmonizing them through the SAHEL-PVE structure to support the regional network effectively.
The SAHEL-PVE network, developed in collaboration with the Liptako-Gourma Authority, the Governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, and local civil society organizations, aims to empower youth within national and regional PVE initiatives. It seeks to facilitate the exchange of best practices and identify early warning signs and risk factors of violent extremism among young populations in the Sahel.
This initiative is being implemented thanks to the support of the Government of Japan.
