GUIDED by the New Partnership for Africa's Development Strategic Framework for Youth Programme of 2004 that is working towards youth empowerment and development;

TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION the inter-relatedness of the challenges facing youth and the need for cross-sectoral policies and programmes that attend to the needs of youth in a holistic manner;

1. Every young person shall have the right to social, economic, political and cultural development with due regard to their freedom and identity and in equal enjoyment of the common heritage of mankind.

1. Every State Parties shall develop a comprehensive and coherent national youth policy. a) The policy shall be cross-sectoral in nature considering the inter- relatedness of the challenges facing young people;

3. States Parties shall ensure that youth are not arbitrarily deprived of their property including inherited property.

The States Parties to this Protocol,

3. States Parties shall: b) Promote the development of youth media for the dissemination of information to young people;

Recognising the contributions of the African Union and Regional Economic Communities to the promotion, nurturing, strengthening and consolidation of democracy and governance;

Committed to promote the universal values and principles of democracy, good governance, human rights and the right to development;

HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:

The amendments or revisions shall enter into force when approved by two-thirds majority of State Parties.

The Assembly shall take appropriate measures aimed at addressing issues raised in the report.

State Parties shall institutionalize good economic and corporate governance through, inter alia: Promoting transparency in public finance management;

1.States Parties undertake to respect and ensure respect for the present Convention. In particular, States Parties shall: Promote self-reliance and sustainable livelihoods amongst internally displaced persons, provided that such measures shall not be used as a basis for neglecting the protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons, without prejudice to other means of assistance;

States Parties shall cooperate, where appropriate, with the African Union and international organizations or humanitarian agencies and civil society organizations, in providing protection and assistance in the course of finding and implementing solutions for sustainable return, local integration or relocation and long-term reconstruction.

1. States Parties shall take specific positive action to promote participative governance and the equal participation of women in the political life of their countries through affirmative action, enabling national legislation and other measures to ensure that: c) women are equal partners with men at all levels of development and implementation of State policies and development programmes .

For the purpose of the present Protocol: j) Violence against women means all acts perpetrated against women which cause or could cause them physical, sexual, psychological, and economic harm, including the threat to take such acts; or to undertake the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on or deprivation of fundamental freedoms in private or public life in peace time and during situations of armed conflicts or of war;

2. States Parties shall take appropriate and effective measures to: k) ensure that women and men enjoy equal rights in terms of access to refugee status, determination procedures and that women refugees are accorded the full protection and benefits guaranteed under international refugee law, including their own identity and other documents;

States Parties shall ensure that women and men enjoy equal rights and are regarded as equal partners in marriage. They shall enact appropriate national legislative measures to guarantee that: a woman and a man shall have equal rights, with respect to the nationality of their children except where this is contrary to a provision in national legislation or is contrary to national security interests;

2. States Parties recognise that the shift towards a knowledge-based economy is dependent on information and communication technology which in turn has contributed towards a dynamic youth culture and global consciousness. In this regard, they shall: c) Engage young people and youth organisations to understand the nexus between contemporary youth culture and traditional African culture, and enable them to express this fusion through drama, art, writing, music and other cultural and artistic forms;

States Parties shall adopt and enforce legislative and other measures to guarantee women equal opportunities in work and career advancement and other economic opportunities. In this respect, they shall: g) introduce a minimum age for work and prohibit the employment of children below that age, and prohibit, combat and punish all forms of exploitation of children, especially the girl-child;

RECOGNISING the inherent rights of internally displaced persons as provided for and protected in international human rights and humanitarian law and as set out in the 1998 United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, which are recognized as an important international framework for the protection of internally displaced persons;

1.States Parties undertake to respect and ensure respect for the present Convention. In particular, States Parties shall: Respect and ensure respect for the humanitarian and civilian character of the protection of and assistance to internally displaced persons, including ensuring that such persons do not engage in subversive activities;

2. States Parties shall: Incorporate their obligations under this Convention into domestic law by enacting or amending relevant legislation on the protection of, and assistance to, internally displaced persons in conformity with their obligations under international law;

All persons have a right to be protected against arbitrary displacement. The prohibited categories of arbitrary displacement include but are not limited to: Forced evacuations in cases of natural or human made disasters or other causes if the evacuations are not required by the safety and health of those affected;

The objectives of this Convention are to: Provide for the respective obligations, responsibilities and roles of armed groups, non-state actors and other relevant actors, including civil society organizations, with respect to the prevention of internal displacement and protection of, and assistance to, internally displaced persons;

1.States Parties undertake to respect and ensure respect for the present Convention. In particular, States Parties shall: Ensure the accountability of non-State actors concerned, including multinational companies and private military or security companies, for acts of arbitrary displacement or complicity in such acts;

Electoral observer missions shall be conducted by appropriate and competent experts in the area of election monitoring, drawn from continental and national institutions such as, but not limited to, the Pan- African Parliament, national electoral bodies, national legislatures and eminent persons taking due cognizance of the principles of regional representation and gender equality.

States Parties shall assess or facilitate the assessment of the needs and vulnerabilities of internally displaced persons and of host communities, in cooperation with international organizations or agencies.

1. States Parties acknowledge the need to eliminate discrimination against girls and young women according to obligations stipulated in various international, regional and national human rights conventions and instruments designed to protect and promote women's rights. In this regard, they shall: a) Introduce legislative measures that eliminate all forms of discrimination against girls and young women and ensure their human rights and fundamental freedoms;