Philippine National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security
The Philippine National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security is the first youth-led, multi-stakeholder-driven peace and security plan anchored on the comprehensive Philippine Process.
The United Nation Security Council’s (UNSC) Resolution No. 2250 that was adopted by the body in 2015 was groundbreaking in many aspects, as it underscored the crucial role of the youth as instruments of positive change, peace and security. It was the first time the UNSC had issued such a resolution that emphasized the invaluable role the youth can play in preventing violent extremism, building peace, and resolving situations of conflict across the globe. In response, the Philippine government included youth development and empowerment initiatives in the formulation of the Philippine Development Plan 2017–2022 in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity, for its part, began developing a comprehensive peace agenda for the nation’s youth in 2017, which is anchored on UNSCR 2250. The OPAPRU conducted several regional peace forums and other youth-based educational events to provide young peace advocates a venue to enhance their skills in fostering a culture of peace and conflict sensitivity. These symposia also provided OPAPRU an opportunity to build and mobilize a youth constituency and gather recommendations that were used in the crafting of the National Action Plan on Youth Peace and Security (NAP-YPS) 2023-2033.
The Philippine National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security (NAPYPS) will provide the framework of the country’s youth-centered, youth-serving, and youth-led programs, initiatives, interventions, and strategies on peacebuilding and security. Anchored on the five YPS pillars defined in UNSCR 2250, it seeks to recognize, enrich, and maximize local and international existing mechanisms in order to address institutional, structural, and cultural barriers hindering young people’s involvement in conflict resolution, prevention, management, and peacebuilding.
Furthermore, the NAP-YPS aims to guide policymakers and service providers toward incorporating and adopting action points as they formulate and implement policies and programs that will address the needs of the country’s youth. Moreover, the NAP-YPS seeks to provide capacity-building training for national government agencies (NGAs) on UNSCR 2250, as well as help map out the different NGAs and non-government organizations’ youth-related programs and projects.
Its formulation took place as early as May of 2017 in the form of the Youth Peace Table. Amidst the COVID19 pandemic, from 2020 to 2021, ten (10) face to face consultations and series of virtual consultations were conducted and participated by 400 youth stakeholders featured the Six-Point Peace and Development Agenda and the gender responsive, conflict sensitive and peace promoting lens during the discussions. This shall also contribute in ensuring the inclusivity of the peace process. It will also serve as the blueprint document to mainstream the youth peacebuilding agenda among national government agencies and local government units, particularly in conflict affected and vulnerable areas.
As important as it is to highlight the importance of the youth in peacebuilding, it is even more critical to translate these discussions into action by mainstreaming the youth’s role in the nation’s peace, security and development agenda.
