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Council of Europe and OSCE launch European Charter on Youth Participation
SARAJEVO 28 March 2002
SARAJEVO, 28 March 2002 - The Council of Europe office in Sarajevo and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina have launched today the BiH edition of the "European Charter on the Participation of Young People in Municipal and Regional Life".
The charter outlines the ways in which young people can participate in public life, and urges the authorities to provide the necessary conditions for integrating youth into public life and thus have them participate in shaping present and future of the society. This charter was launched already in several European countries and in some of them became the basis for respective legislation.
Dr. Sonja Moser-Starrach, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed her "hope that the principles and ideas contained in the Charter will motivate young people, political leaders and administrations to work together on improving the situation of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina."
Ambassador Dieter Woltmann, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission, stated: "Youth participation in elections has been consistently low throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. This does not mean that they do not have opinions and, more importantly, solutions. Rather it shows their frustration at the ostensible lack of opportunities to voice their ideas. Equally, they continue to mistrust pre-electoral promises. In contrast to this prevailing resignation, I think there are many realistic ways for young people to organise themselves effectively and to hold politicians accountable. OSCE should help identifying these opportunities. Moreover, young people's power can be demonstrated best by a massive turnout of "young votes" on Election Day. Therefore, we encourage young people to become active and responsible citizens, to be a part of the whole democratic process and, in particular, not to give up their right to vote.
In the coming weeks, OSCE field offices and Political Resource Centres will strengthen their ongoing efforts to encourage young people to bring their unique experience with specific problems to the solution-finding process at all levels, but particularly at the municipal and regional levels. Participation of young people in all spheres of public life is one of the key objectives of both the Council of Europe and the OSCE. By encouraging, promoting and supporting the participation of youth in public life one brings to the fore not only the problems of young people, but also problems that threaten all, such as unemployment and discrimination. Through their participation, a broader and more effective coalition across generations is built to tackle current challenges and those that lie ahead.
"Politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina should seek to involve young people at all stages of the decision-making process in order to benefit from their experience and fresh ideas, as well as to motivate them into action and responsible citizenry", explained the OSCE Democratisation Director, Michael H. Hryshchyshyn.
5,000 copies of the Charter in the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be disseminated through the OSCE field presence and the Council of Europe. Partners for the promotion of the charter are more than 200 youth groups linked together through the services of the recently created non-governmental Youth Information Agency (Omladinska Informativna Agencija).
The charter outlines the ways in which young people can participate in public life, and urges the authorities to provide the necessary conditions for integrating youth into public life and thus have them participate in shaping present and future of the society. This charter was launched already in several European countries and in some of them became the basis for respective legislation.
Dr. Sonja Moser-Starrach, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in Bosnia and Herzegovina, expressed her "hope that the principles and ideas contained in the Charter will motivate young people, political leaders and administrations to work together on improving the situation of young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina."
Ambassador Dieter Woltmann, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission, stated: "Youth participation in elections has been consistently low throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina. This does not mean that they do not have opinions and, more importantly, solutions. Rather it shows their frustration at the ostensible lack of opportunities to voice their ideas. Equally, they continue to mistrust pre-electoral promises. In contrast to this prevailing resignation, I think there are many realistic ways for young people to organise themselves effectively and to hold politicians accountable. OSCE should help identifying these opportunities. Moreover, young people's power can be demonstrated best by a massive turnout of "young votes" on Election Day. Therefore, we encourage young people to become active and responsible citizens, to be a part of the whole democratic process and, in particular, not to give up their right to vote.
In the coming weeks, OSCE field offices and Political Resource Centres will strengthen their ongoing efforts to encourage young people to bring their unique experience with specific problems to the solution-finding process at all levels, but particularly at the municipal and regional levels. Participation of young people in all spheres of public life is one of the key objectives of both the Council of Europe and the OSCE. By encouraging, promoting and supporting the participation of youth in public life one brings to the fore not only the problems of young people, but also problems that threaten all, such as unemployment and discrimination. Through their participation, a broader and more effective coalition across generations is built to tackle current challenges and those that lie ahead.
"Politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina should seek to involve young people at all stages of the decision-making process in order to benefit from their experience and fresh ideas, as well as to motivate them into action and responsible citizenry", explained the OSCE Democratisation Director, Michael H. Hryshchyshyn.
5,000 copies of the Charter in the official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be disseminated through the OSCE field presence and the Council of Europe. Partners for the promotion of the charter are more than 200 youth groups linked together through the services of the recently created non-governmental Youth Information Agency (Omladinska Informativna Agencija).