For several decades, youth in the Mano River Basin were marginalized by their states, which subjected
them to social injustices that left them angry and disillusioned. The result was the involvement of
young people in more than a decade of violent civil wars in the region. In as much as the war left the
affected countries destroyed, the elites failed to appreciate the youth agency, especially within the post conflict context and continued to exclude young people from both peacemaking and peace-building processes. The policy brief seeks to draw the attention of policymakers to the implications of marginalizing, infantilising and denying young people access to socio-economic and political opportunities, which are crucial in ensuring they live in decency and dignity. It further proposes policy recommendations, which could be meaningful in identifying and addressing the challenges that young people contend with on a daily basis in the region.
