Minister Roland Lamola: Launch of South Africa-Finland Youth Peace Mediators Programme

Programme Director, Ambassador Dlomo,
Honourable Minister Elina Valtonen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland,
Ambassador Pekka Metso, Embassy of Finland,
Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners,
Director General of DIRCO, Mr Dangor,
Representatives of the United Nations, African Union, SADC and other international and regional organisations,
Esteemed colleagues from government, civil society, and academia, including from the Cyril Ramaphosa Foundation, the Martti Ahtisaari Foundation and Interpeace,
Participants from the 15 counties attending in person and online,
Distinguished delegates, friends, and partners,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is my honour to welcome you to the South African Launch of the Youth Peace Mediators Mentoring Programme.

Here’s a powerful political rhetoric built from your message, honouring the past while challenging present and future generations:

We stand upon shoulders drenched in the courage of fire! The shoulders of the young lions of ‘76 generation, who faced bullets with textbooks in hand, whose blood on the streets of Soweto did not just stain the earth – it ignited the world’s conscience.

Their sacrifice, their defiant roar against the machinery of apartheid, shook the foundations of tyranny. It was their fire that burned brighter than the regime’s brutality, exposing its rotten core to a horrified globe. It was their march that became an unstoppable tide, sweeping away the edifice of oppression and carving the path to our hard-won dawn in 1994 – 31 years of freedom we hold sacred.

Democracy delivered by sacrifice is not democracy sustained by complacency.

The ballot box alone is not freedom’s fortress. Parliaments and constitutions are not self-executing monuments. True democracy breathes only when its people – especially its youth, the inheritors of that ’76 generation spirit – become its relentless heartbeat. Democracy demands more than a vote cast every few years; it demands voices in every hall, our vision shaping every policy, high levels accountability across all society actively building the nation daily. This is the active citizenry – the living, breathing democracy – that roots freedom deep.

Yet the grim shadow looms. It looms even beyond our borders! The fruits of democracy cannot wither on the vine! We know too well that ethnic hatred poisons communities, religious intolerance fractures societies, ideological fanaticism suffocates debate, and political ambition tramples the common good. Violence rises, freedoms crumble, and the very light of democracy flickers under the storm of conflict. This is not some distant tragedy; it is the lived reality of women and children in Eastern DRC, Sudan and Gaza and other places across our wounded world.

Therefore, the legacy of 16 June is not a relic! It is a relentless charge! It is a torch passed from the hands of those fallen scholars into ours – and from ours, we must hurl it with furious purpose into the future!

We stand on the shoulders of giants not to admire the view, but to see the horizon they fought for – and the distance still to travel. We stand there to build higher, to reach further, to reshape our destiny.

The courage of ’76 generation, is the ultimate invocation of active citizenship is your sacred duty.

The future does not wait. It is seized. It is built. It is defended. We need to ensure that the fire of ’76 generation, burns not just in memory, but in our muscle, our movement, and our unwavering resolve to make democracy real, vibrant, and unshakeable – for all, forever.

We stand on their shoulders. It is up us to build the future worthy of their sacrifice.

The world is experiencing a 30-year high in violent conflict. In fact, the world is experiencing the highest number of violent conflicts since 1945. Deaths from violent conflicts have increased by 340 percent in the last 10 years. The Peace Research Institute of Oslo reports that Africa remains the region with the most state-based conflicts per year (28), followed by Asia (17), the Middle East (10), Europe (3) and the Americas (1). In the past four years, Africa has seen more than 330,000 conflict-related deaths.

According to the UNHCR, towards the end of June 2024, the number of refugees globally sits at a staggering 43.7 million. This represents a new record since World War II. Ninety percent of these refugees are fleeing violence, war, and persecution. These numbers have been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and includes refugees emanating from the military onslaught by Israel against the people of Gaza.

Excellencies, ladies and Gentlemen,

Significantly, UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth Peace and Security, laid out the framework to formally recognise that young people are critical agents of peace and are not just victims or perpetrators in conflict. On this basis, it urges countries to support and include members of the youth in peacebuilding efforts.

The resolution is based on five key pillars, namely, participation, prevention, protection, partnership, disengagement and reintegration. Resolution 2250 was indeed a breakthrough in the sense that it was the first UN resolution to recognise youth as positive contributors to peace. It shifted the global narrative from seeing youth as a threat and proponent of unrest or as victims to seeing them as solution-makers.

It led to further global initiatives, like youth peace and security national action plans, and inspired youth inclusion in peace agreements, importantly also in terms of the African Agenda 2063 that focusses on five priority areas for the youth including governance, peace, and security.

The materialisation of this programme acts as a testimony to said initiatives which was made possible by the collaboration between the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

In terms of the youth dividend what does it mean.  As of recent World Bank data, the global youth population makes up approximately 16% of the global population, which translates to 1.2 billion people. It is imperative that careful attention is paid to the plight of the youth as they make up a large majority of the working force, consequently, empowering them will be the catalyst to achieving economic productivity and growth which in turn contributes towards alleviating poverty and creating further opportunities.

Moreover, members of the youth are especially vulnerable to the effects of conflict and instability, due to the fact that they are often directly impacted by a myriad of issues such as displacement, disruption to education, mental health and trauma and often times are the direct targets of recruitment by armed groups. The impact of gender violence on young girls is also a significant factor in terms of trauma and abuse suffered by the youth.

However, putting members of the youth at the forefront of peace mediation allows them to take on accountability and peer guidance roles in terms of addressing challenges uniquely faced by them. In addition, young people are already instrumental in raising awareness and revealing the nature of peace and conflict issues primarily through the use of social media platforms. Not only has this allowed them to promote the ideals of peace and tolerance, but it has also exposed the extent of human rights violations and atrocities which have been committed by different actors.

Despite associated stereotypes – which frequently treat young men as a “threat” and consign young women to the status of passive victimhood – young women and men have demonstrated their capacity to lead and drive positive change, and particularly to make a positive contribution to building peace, preventing violence, and mediating conflict.

Across the globe, young people often provide the leadership in social movements for change, including: on the front lines in the existential fight for climate justice; in arms control and anti-war movements; through struggles for human security, and in inclusive, legitimate, and accessible governance; in the quest for justice and accountability (whether through traditional, formal, or transitional justice measures); in the struggle against systemic racism; and in the quest to address social and economic inequality.

Young people therefore bring unique perspectives, energy, and innovative solutions to building peace and mediating conflict.

Young people’s commitment and ability to influence public opinion has demonstrated their capacity to be the driving force behind serious change, not just in their respective countries but also on the global scale. The impact of a vibrant dynamic and challenged youth was seen in the challenge they laid to the Apartheid state in our liberation struggle, but also more recently during the so-called Arab Spring in 2010 which saw widespread protests and the mobilisation of society against authoritarianism and civil repression from regimes in the Middle East and North Africa. Young people played a crucial role in the Arab Spring as they utilised social media to spread information and to mobilise demonstrations defeating the suppression information, which was being perpetrated by state-run media channels.

In South Africa and indeed in many countries in Africa and globally, members of the youth face the challenge of high rates of unemployment. Tragically, this leads to an increase in crime and breeds a society which is prone to conflict which further perpetuates the cycle of conflict. Addressing the root cause of these issues and proactively eradicating these conditions remains the Republic of South Africa’s key priority in addressing the triple challenge of unemployment, poverty and inequality.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

According to International Labour Organisation, over 600 million young people are estimated to be living in fragile and conflict-affected areas. In this regard, it is of paramount importance that members of the youth are prioritised for development as they are tasked with receiving the baton and stepping in to become the next generation of leaders who are entrusted with breaking the cycle of conflict and instability worldwide.

The displacement of children and the youth, and the consequence of having millions of youths not receiving education has serious long-term consequences. According to a prominent NGO “Education Cannot Wait”, approximately 222 million crisis-affected children and youth are in urgent need of education support and a further 78 million are out of school entirely. These alarming figures could lead to the previously alluded to long term consequences of leaving behind a generation of those without education or employment which trap the youth into a continuous cycle of poverty and dependence.

Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan articulated it best when he said ‘’Education is, quite simply, peacebuilding by another name. It is the most effective form of defence spending there is’’.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Rolling on from the momentum of the Gertrude Shope Women’s Mediation Network Solidarity Conference on Women, Peace and Security which was held on 09 May 2025, under the theme ‘Voices of Women within a Global Environment of Escalating Conflict’ in which women from countries in conflict along with other women networks shared their experiences, it is truly motivating to see such a large number of young women as participants in this programme.

I say this because women are often left on the back burner regarding issues pertaining to peace mediation during conflict despite being heavily affected and burdened by conflict. This inclusion of a large selection of young women contributes immensely towards the UN Security Council’s Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security which address the impact of war on women and calls for increased representation of women at all levels of decision-making in institutions for conflict prevention, management and resolution.

Having this group of young and eager participants from all walks of life, spanning fifteen countries and five continents reflects their commitment to ensuring we acquire world peace. The Department, along with Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs have not only established the programme to train and expose you but we are also eager to learn from you as participants and their experiences.

The enrichment of knowledge is a reciprocal relationship, and we are certain that you will learn from each and build each other up to become change-makers in today’s uncertain world.

In closing, allow me to quote the words of the great Oliver Reginald Tambo ‘’The children of any nation are its future. A country, a movement, a person that does not value its youth and children does not deserve its future’’.

Thank you.