Hon. Sabrina Gahar, Chairperson of the AGA-APSA Platform at the Political Level and Chairperson of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC);
Your Excellency, Amb. Tarek Ben Salem, Vice-Chairperson of the AGA-APSA Platform and Representative of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA);
Your Excellency, Amb. Obaida Eldandarawy, PSC Chairperson and Permanent Representative of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the AU and Ethiopia;
Your Excellency, Amb. Willy Nyamitwe, Interim Chair of the PRC Sub-Committee on Human Rights, Democracy and Governance (HRDG) and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Burundi to the AU and Ethiopia;
Your Excellencies, Distinguished Members of the AGA-APSA Platform at the Political and Technical Levels;
Your Excellencies, Ambassadors and Members of the PRC Sub-Committee on Human Rights, Democracy and Governance;
Distinguished Youth Representatives, Partners and Stakeholders;
Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is my honour to welcome you to the 2026 First Political Meeting of the AGA-APSA Platform. The Platform was founded on a clear conviction: that sustainable peace and security in Africa are inseparable from democratic governance, respect for human rights, and accountable institutions.

Over the years, this platform has evolved into a unique continental mechanism that brings together diverse mandates and expertise to advance this vision in a coordinated and practical manner. This progress has been witnessed by the progress made through the revision of the current Rules of Procedure and our resolve to have a joint AGA-APSA Roadmap. While we have achieved notable progress, I must say that - we must continue to challenge ourselves achieve more.

I wish to commend the outgoing Chairperson, Hon. Sabrina Gahar, and former ACERWC Chair, Hon. Wilson Almeida Adão, for their dedication to the Platform. I also extend my appreciation to Ambassador Tarek Ben Salem, Vice-Chairperson and Representative of the Arab Maghreb Union, for his support and commitment throughout his tenure.

Today, the Platform will elect a new Bureau. I wish the incoming Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson every success and trust that the new leadership will continue to advance the Platform’s mandate, and the governance, peace, and security agenda. As the permanent Rapporteur and host of the Secretariat, the PAPS remains at your disposal at the Technical and Political level to advance synergies.

Your Excellencies,

I highly commend the work undertaken in 2025, particularly the successful convening of the 13th High-Level Dialogue and its pre-events on youth and women, held in Accra under the theme “Justice, Rights, Reparations and State-Building.” These engagements reaffirmed the enduring relevance of justice and accountability in Africa’s governance landscape.

I further commend the development of the High-Level Dialogue Compendium and the innovative article competition, which elevated youth voices and transformed the dialogue into a sustained process of knowledge generation and intergenerational ownership.

As we look to 2026, allow me to highlight four priority issues for your consideration:

1. First, I commend the Platform’s sustained engagement with the PSC and the PRC Sub-Committee. I encourage Members to further review and strengthen the implementation of decisions and communiqués, ensuring that policy commitments translate into tangible impact on the ground. This also goes for the High-Level Dialogue outcomes. We must turn these commitments into action.

2. Second, I am pleased to note the PRC’s endorsement of the 2028 AU Theme of the Year on Human Rights, Democracy, and Governance. This presents a strategic opportunity for all of us to shape the continental agenda. We must use this opportunity to position our collective work. I invite you to engage in early conceptualization, roadmap development, action planning, and budgetary alignment within our respective mandates with 2028 in sight.

3. Third, youth inclusion, mainstreaming and empowerment remains a cross-cutting imperative for democracy, human rights, conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and regional integration. In this regard, Youth empowerment has been proposed for this Platform as key flagship initiative. I have personally committed to advancing this agenda and I invite all members to rally around this theme to expand to the Platform for the year 2026 by integrating youth meaningfully across platforms, programs and activities. We do have the strategy already - the AGA – APSA Youth Engagement Strategy – we just need to action it. The Secretariat is ready to support and collate all contributions and commitments to report collective results at the end of the year.

In this context, I welcome the forthcoming African Governance Report 2027 on “Youth in Governance in Africa: From Promise to Prosperity” and I am happy that my sister CEO of APRM, H.E Amb. Marie – Antoinette Rose Quatre will help us shed some light later this morning during the political panel organized under the theme “Youth Empowerment for Governance and Regional Integration”.

Drawing from regional experiences, specifically from the COMESA region - it is clear that youth-responsive approaches must be systematically integrated into our activities and initiatives.

We also haven’t forgotten the youth - there will be two vibrant youth from African Union Wise Youth that will reflect on the presentations made. This is all to say, we must rally around youth empowerment - Agenda 2063 itself calls for a peaceful, just, and inclusive Africa driven by its people, particularly its youth and I believe this Platform is uniquely positioned to help translate that vision into concrete and sustainable outcomes.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen

In conclusion, I wish to extend my sincere appreciation to all Platform Members, the PSC and PRC Sub-Committee Chairpersons, Director of GCPD and Ag. CMD, the AGA-APSA Secretariat, for their invaluable contributions and wish you a successful convening and a great year ahead.

I thank you for your kind attention.