Youth Participation in Peace Processes in North Africa and the MiddleEast: From the Amman Declaration to the Pact for the Mediterranean

This thematic paper examines youth participation in peace processes across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), tracing its evolution from the 2015 Amman Youth Declaration to emerging regional frameworks such as the Pact for the Mediterranean. It highlights the persistent gap between global commitments under the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda and their practical implementation in conflict-affected contexts.

Authored by Marjus Ceveli, Giampaolo Servida, and Luca Omar Tancredi, the paper analyses structural, political, and social barriers that continue to limit meaningful youth inclusion in formal peace processes, while also showcasing youth-led practices in Libya, Yemen, and Tunisia. It argues that youth participation is not a symbolic addition but a structural condition for building legitimate, inclusive, and durable peace, and puts forward concrete policy recommendations to institutionalise youth engagement across local, national, and regional levels.