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AU Official Calls for Reparative Justice and Youth Leadership at High-Level Dialogue in Accra


 

Accra, Ghana — July 26, 2025


A top African Union official has urged young Africans to take the lead in rebuilding the continent through justice, unity, and inclusive governance.

The Director of the Governance and Conflict Prevention Directorate in the AU’s Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, Ms. Patience Z. Chiradza, while delivering a keynote address at the opening of the Continental Youth Consultations to the 13th High-Level Dialogue in Accra, said reparations is “more than symbolic”.

According to Ms. Chiradza, Africa’s youth are not just the future but the present, with a critical role in reimagining and transforming the continent.

“Reparations are not only about compensation. They are about recognition, redress, and reconstruction,” said Chiradza, linking the need for justice to Africa’s historical traumas of slavery, colonialism, and systemic exploitation.

She emphasized that youth must reclaim Africa’s narrative and institutional identity.



Chiradza outlined key AU frameworks designed to empower youth, to include the African Youth Charter (2006), the AGA-APSA Youth Engagement Strategy (2024–2030), the AU Transitional Justice Policy (2019), and peacebuilding initiatives like Youth for Peace and the Chairperson’s Youth Envoy.

 “These frameworks are not ends in themselves. They are tools for transformation,” she said, urging young people to actively shape, challenge, and lead their implementation.

The Director called for youth to leverage digital tools, activism, and creative expression to influence policy and reshape public trust, adding that youth across Africa and the diaspora have already been leading—from movements like Rhodes Must Fall to digital campaigns and community organizing.

Chiradza also highlighted the AU’s commitment to inclusive dialogue, noting that youth input from the forum would directly inform the 13th High-Level Dialogue and future AU initiatives under Agenda 2063.

She closed with a call to honor both the memory of past generations and the responsibility to future ones: “The baton is already in your hands… Let our answer be: We resisted. We reimagined. We rebuilt. Together.”

The African Union expressed gratitude to the Government of Ghana and key stakeholders, including H.E. Mr. George Opare Addo, for their support in hosting the forum.

The event, held in Accra, brought together youth leaders, policymakers, and partners from across the continent, reinforcing the AU’s message: The Africa We Want cannot be built without the youth we have.

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