Statement by H. E. Mr. Yoshifumi Okamura
Ambassador, Deputy Permanent Representative of Japan,
At the United Nations Security Council Open Debate
On the Maintenance of International Peace and Security:
The Role of Youth in Countering Violent Extremism and Promoting Peace
23 April 2015
Madam President,
At the outset, I would like to pay tribute to His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdulla II for his initiative in organizing this Open Debate. The focus of today’s debate on the role of youth in countering violent extremism and promoting peace is timely and important.
I would also like to thank His Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his briefing.
Madam President,
When young people move, society changes. The power of young people is the driving force that pushes the world forward. This power can promote peace, freedom and democracy. Look at what happened in Tunisia. It was the youth that overturned the regime, bringing about a movement that changed the whole face of the Middle East.
But at the same time, young power can also lead the world to war and conflict. Youths can be exploited by political powers and even stand by those who would try to disorder society.
About 4 years ago, Côte d’Ivoire was in the midst of a political crisis after the presidential elections of 2010. I was there as Japan’s Ambassador. A man named Charles Blé-Goudé instigated young people to support the incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo. Certain groups of youths were manipulated by him. Their demonstrations created fear among the people. They called for the withdrawal of the United Nations presence and even attacked U.N. personnel and vehicles.
Against this backdrop, it is clear that we must take the utmost care to lead the transformative and potentially explosive power of youth toward peace, freedom and democracy, not toward war and conflict. This lesson is all the truer now, as we see quite a few young people being taken in by radical terrorist groups such as ISIL. We have to take a close look at the frustrations and anger that young people face, stemming from economic difficulties and social repression. We need to turn their energy and passion into constructive actions, not destructive ones.
Madam President,
From this perspective, Japan sees position of youth in the economic and social spheres as directly connected to the issue of peace and stability. Japan has been earnestly working toward the empowerment of youth in order to engage them in development, economic growth and the promotion of business.
Our efforts made through the TICAD process are a good example in this regard. Japan has been supporting the capacity building of young African people through the TICAD process, which I oversaw as Director-General for African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.
TICAD V, the most recent TICAD conference held in 2013, saw the commencement of several youth projects in that line. These projects included the African Business Education Initiative for the Youth (ABE Initiative), which aims to invite one thousand youth-participants from around Africa to Japan over five years in order to develop effective skills and knowledge in various fields. The objective is to contribute to the development of industry throughout Africa. We have already received 155 participants in Japan. They are all expected to become brilliant leaders in business and to further strengthen the close relationship between Japan and Africa.
Another project launched at TICAD V was the establishment of human resource development centers for business and industry at ten locations, to serve 25 countries in Africa. These centers, with some other support programmes, are intended to build the capacity of some thirty thousand young people.
Madam President,
As for the issue of violent extremism, I share the concern that the number of victims around the world from violent extremism is growing. Japan is not an exception. At the beginning of this year, two Japanese citizens were murdered in Syria. Immediately thereafter, Japan announced a policy of assistance to create societies resilient to radicalization. In essence, we hope to put into practice the Arab proverb “Khair Al-Umuri Ausatoha (the best way is to go in the middle).” Under this policy, Japan is realizing various projects such as connecting youth with employment opportunities, correcting inequalities, and supporting education and people exchanges.
Madam President,
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, on the occasion of his visit to Africa in January last year, said in his speech, “If we can reveal a bright future to young people, the future of Africa will without a doubt also become bright.” We could replace here the word “Africa” with “the world”. We have to reveal a bright future to all young people in order to make the future of the world bright.
Japan is determined to continue to work closely with its partners in the international community toward creating stable and energetic societies all over the world, and giving hope to young people.
I thank you, Madam President.
