THE CAMEROONIAN YOUTH : UNDERSTANDING CONFLICT , INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE AND PEACE.
Presented by AJI James, at the 1st National Conference organised by the Local Youth Corner (LOYOC) Cameroon, British Council, Yaounde
Thursday February 24, 2005.

CONTEXTUAL DEFINITIONS
YOUTH- people between the transition from chldhood to adulthood.The age bracket of 13 (for natural reasons of maturity) and 35 (the civil code reason of age limit for integration into the public service).
CONFLICT- a state of opposition betwen two parties. An ongoing state of hostility between two groups. Emphasis here is on international conflicts.
INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE- the principle of treating persons or states equally in accordance with international law.
PEACE- the abscence of war or hostilities, and the agreement or treaty to end hostilities.

INTRODUCTION
Most of the world’s history has been shaped by an ongoing cycle of peace and conflict. Over the past hundred years, however, often violent attempts by men to dominate one another have intensified, so too have efforts to thwart them. At its roots, the study of peace and conflict is the study of human nature, more specifically, how humanity reconciles its essentially selfish nature with the desire to live amongst others.
The saying that “the youth are the leaders of tomorrow”, suggests that the future of the world lies in their hands. The world is today largely characterised by conflicts of various forms: ethnic, cultural, political, or economic within or between states. Not only do these conflicts distabilise the world, they are quite costly. What is most unfortunate about these conflicts is that the youth are deeply involved in them and are greatly consumed by them.
If the world has to be a better place, then there is the need for the establishment of international justice and the preservation of world peace. Given the fact that most youth get involved in conflicts, and suffer the adverse effects, it appears but logical that they play a vanguard role in the eradication of these conflicts, and in the preservation of international justice and peace.

THE YOUTH AND CONFLICT
Conflicts essentially emanate from the differences that lead to disagreements between and amongst human beings. At the national level, the composition of a state could be a source of conflict. This is very conspicuous in plural societies where ethnic, racial, or cultural differences in the form of language or religion are often sources of conflicts. In South Africa, for instance, the differences between the blacks and the whites materialised in the implementation of “Apatheid”, and was a source of violent conflict between the two for decades. In Sudan, the religious element has largely contributed to ravage the country for the past 18 years, killing over two million people and displacing over four million others. In Rwanda, ethnic differences between the Tutsis and the Hutus led to the genocide of 1994 that still sends a cold shudder down the spines of many today. In Nigeria, ethnic differences have often led to outbursts of conflict, which are further exercebated by religios conflicts between the Christians and the Muslims. This has been worsened in recent times by the introduction of the Sharia in some of the northern states.
These conflicts at times take international dimensions, or constitute a call for concern to the international community. They either have spill-over effects in terms of armed incursions or in terms of refugee flow into neighbouring countries. The Great Lakes region is a good example of how internal conflicts easily take international dimensions. In recent times, it has become increasingly difficult to draw a straight line between internal and international conflicts, as the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of states, hitherto sacred, is more and more beeing questioned.
What is irrefutable is the fact that these conflicts need strong and agile people to carryout and sustain the violet actions that often characterise them. Youthful exuberance is often misused in this direction. Often times the youth take part in these conflicts either because they are not educated, poorly educated, unemployed, or because of poverty. Indeed, hunger and ignorance render most youths easy prey to the manipulative tendencies of selfish political and religious leaders, warlords, and tribal kings. The youth therefore become the tool for the materialisation of the ambitions of some leaders. Whatever the reasons for youth involvement in these conflicts, the consequences are almost always disastrous to them.
Needless to say, conflicts all over the world lead to a high loss in human lives, and given the fact that the youth are the prime actors, it is but natural that they bear the loss highest than other social groups. Besides the loss in human lives, serious material losses always follow these conflicts. Damages or destruction of infrastructure and social amenities are rampant in conflict zones. Thus schools, hospitals, markets, religious houses, sports centres, amongst others, often suffer from violent conflicts. The youth bear the burden of these losses firstly because they are the primary beneficiaries of the services that the infrastructure offer, and secondly because as the future leaders, their reconstruction inevitably lies on their shoulders. Young girls bear an extra burden in the sense that in addition to the above, they undergo psychological and physical traumas such as rape. There is therefore the need for the youth to work for international justice and peace.

ERADICATING CONFLICT, ENSURING INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE AND PEACE: AN INTEREST FOR THE YOUTH.
Violent conflicts are responsible for the greatest violations of human rights, causing death, destruction, and human suffering. At any time, there are about 110 ongoing violent political conflicts in the world, and roughly 30 of these are major wars where more than 1000 soldiers are killed. Others die from the effects of war, including disease and hunger. It is partly in an attempt to redress this worrisome situation that international law has steadily gone beyond holding only states responsible for these breaches, which allowed world leaders to act with impunity because they could not be held accountable. The examples of the United Nations tribunals for Rwanda and former Yugoslavia address the legal responsibility of individuals who have cmmitted crimes of war and crimes against humanity. National courts too have exercised jurisdiction over world leaders, and some, such as former Chilean dictator, Augusto Pinochet, have been charged by courts in many countries. This does not only ensure international justice, but it helps to forestall peace.
Can the youth contribute to international justice and peace?
Some cultures in the world relegate the youth to the background in most, if not all vital issues in the society. In the African context for example, to be young sometimes means being stupid, unintelligent, and foolish. That explains why young people are often barred from some public meetings even when issues that affect and afflict their well-being are being discussed. Youth is regarded with disapproval. “The youth as the future leaders” is often interpreted to mean that the youth have nothing to say or contribute in the present situation of things. In Cameroon, a look at the Government or Parliament ties with this assertion.
But then each youth has an inbuilt potential that is definitely unique. These skills are supposed to be useful in one way or the other to the growth of the world as a whole through each and every individual’s optimistic effort backed up by the collective effort and support of the society, i.e. government, non-government, private, and corporate voluntary support which will enhance the youth for a better tomorrow.
Human history has shown that youths are a vital force in development. Thus it is essential to empower them by equipping them as individuals, youth organisations, communities, and international actors to participate in policy and decision making that affect their lives and well-being.
It was against this backdrop that 28 youths from former Yugoslavia, Greece, Bosnia, Serbia, Mozambique, Uganda, Denmark, Germany, Guatamala, Norway, Lithuania, and France, attending the Solidarity 2000 event in Copenhagen, Denmark, challenged political leaders worldwide to involve them in their quest to seek lasting solutions to conflicts, given the fact that they are the ones who suffer most from them. They equally urged youths living in peaceful nations to assist their colleagues living in conflict areas to oversee violence and create sustainable peace.
The youths can play this role by developing mutual understanding to build a true culture of peace, because we know that conflicts begin in the minds of men and it is in the minds of men that defences must be constructed. Educational campaigns among youths on the world’s cultural differences can rid them of suspicion, since cultural and ethnic differences are major sources of conflicts.
The youth also need to take their destinies into their hands and push for greater involvement and participation in the day to day administration at national levels, and make their voices heard and felt at the international level, to prevent, manage or resolve conflicts, and ensuring the maintenance of world peace and international justice.
The need to invest in the future by working hard in the present, should be a guiding principle for the youth. The circle of conflicts is likely to continue if they fail to do this. It is unfortunate and regrettable that many youths prefer the easy way out of life. They readily engage in conflicts to loot, rape, and destroy, acquiring momentary and shortlived satisfaction at the detriment of tomorrow. Many shun hardwork and engage in prostitution, feymania, and theft, which only portray youth irresponsibility. The Cameroonian youth is not spared from this curse of laziness and irresponsibility. Many, who are students, frequent night clubs more than libraries, their role models are feymen. It is because of their lazy and irresponsible attitude that they can easily be manipulated to undertake actions that are against their interests. That explains why many youths come out on National or Youth Days in party colours, when they hardly understand what the parties stand for, talk less of believing in the ideals. Many come out on hire on Labour Day to march for enterprises and companies, though they are unemployed. This type of youth is vulnerable and can easily be manipulated to take part in conflict.
If the Cameroonian youth is therefore to give its contribution to the construction of world peace, they need to sit up and demonstrate more seriousness that can also convince the decision makers to entrust the affairs of the state in their hands.
CONCLUSION
Considering that youths are the most active, dynamic, creative, innovative and flexible social sector and major stakeholders in the search for the abolition of violent conflicts and the creation of a culture of peace and non-violence as well as important actors in the construction of a participartory civil society in the world, the time has come for youths to unite in co-ordinated action to build peace in the world. A way forward is through active networking to transform the root causes of conflict and bring forward conditions to build sustainable peace. While the majority of the global community continues to erect mechanisms in order to attain the goel for world peace, the Cameroonian youth needs to synchronise national effort to educate the youth groups to view the ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversities of the country as a blessing. When this goal is attained, this can then be exported to other countries. Action on this should be NOW, not soon.
















BIBLIOGRAPHY
TEXTBOOKS
1. Denis Arielle, International Cultural Relations, Allen and Unwin, London, 1989.
2. Holsti K.J., International Politics: A Framework for Analysis, Prencetice-Hall Inc, New Jersey, 1995.
3. Rosenau James and Hylke Tromp (edited), Interdependence and Conflict in World Politics, Gower Publishing Company Ltd, England, 1989
4. Sindjoun Luc, Sociologies des Relations Internationales Africaines, Edition Karthala, Paris, 2002.
ARTICLES
1. Gurr Ted Robert, “People Against States: Ethnopolitical Conflict and the Changing World System”, in International Studies Quarterly, Vol.38, N)1.
2. Kane Ousmane, “Réflexion sur les émeutes interconfessionnelles du nord du Nigeria” in Politique Etrangère, 33 printemps,1999.
3. Pascalini Valérie, “L’évolution des conflits en Afrique”, in La Revue Internationale et Stratégique, 33 printemps, 1999.
WEBSITES
1. http://www.understandingtakingitglobal.org/peace and conflict
2. http://www.answers.com
3. www.cartercenter.org
4. www.globalpolicy.org
5. http://www.pioneersofchange.net/