Also building on our experience in Liberia working with young people, the West Africa
Programme has extended its youth focus throughout the MRU region. Many young people in
the MRU area face an uncertain future, carrying the burden of trauma and lacking the skills to
engage in building a solid foundation for peace.

The MRU conflict has militarised young people
in the area to an unprecedented level, perhaps unequalled in any other part of the world. The
recruitment of child soldiers has been common within all of the warring factions; it is estimated
that there are over 20,000 child soldiers in Sierra Leone and Liberia alone, most of whom were
forcibly recruited. Over 80 per cent of the youth in the region are unemployed and very often
illiterate. They provide a large pool of available labour, predisposed for recruitment into state and
non-state warring parties. In a context where poverty and deprivation are commonplace, and
war becomes commercialised, being a fighter becomes a means of livelihood.

Whether or not this large group of young people remains an easy target for those seeking to
mobilise violence depends on the existing system offering them hope for a viable future. Lacking
formal education with few, if any, employment opportunities it is important that youth are
educated in a way that will enable them to use their energies in a positive peacebuilding manner,
taking on a leadership role in their society. As such, the aim of the MRU Youth Project is to
advance peace processes through active participation and education of affected youths. The
focus of the programme is to invest in conflict prevention by equipping young people with
essential conflict management skills as well as employment skills, ensuring that tense situations
do not escalate and erupt into violent conflicts.