ARAB SPRING: FUTURE AGENDA MUST FOCUS ON THE INTEGRATION OF YOUNG PEOPLE AND TAKE THE HORIZONTAL NATURE OF THEIR ISSUES INTO ACCOUNT, CNDH PRESIDENT

President of the (Moroccan) National Human Rights Council (CNDH) Mr. Driss Al Yazami took part in a seminar on "Youth and democratic transition in the Mediterranean". This seminar was organized by the Euromed Platform in partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, with CNDH support, on Saturday, December 10, 2011 in Rabat.

Mr. Al Yazami stressed the importance of the integration of young people in all sectors, taking into account the fact that their issues have a horizontal nature and are present in the different fields, gender equality through the fight of discrimination and the establishment of the principle of parity, the settlement of past gross violations of human rights and the peaceful management of the process of democracy-building.

The causes behind the Arab Spring were already explained in several human development reports; mainly the absence of civil liberties and political rights, strong discrimination against women, deep crisis of the educational system and the allocation, by some countries, of high budgets to the military field, he said.

He explained that the current situation in Arab countries is due to radical societal shifts in these societies, which are reflected in particular through the demographic growth characterized by the high proportion of young people, the status of women and the promotion of individual autonomy.

This gathering aimed to discuss the situation and the expectations of young people within the context of democratic transition, their position in the project aiming at the building of a State of institutions in the southern part of the Mediterranean, the means of joint action among young people in the both sides of the Mediterranean within the context of the current transformations in order to establish democracy and governance in the region.

The participants engaged on how to involve young people in the best investment of the dynamism they succeeded to create through their demands to establish a democratic society based on social justice, equality, political participation and respect for human rights and dignity.

Several associations, organizations, institutions and university institutes concerned by the issues of young people, women, human rights, development and freedom of expression, environment, etc. in the Mediterranean region took part in the said seminar.