Youth Peace Council

The Youth Peace Council was established to contribute to the construction of an equitable society through peace-building, gender mainstreaming and inclusion. The Council recognizes that Nepal’s peace-building and reconstruction process has, thus far, failed to be inclusive and provide equal representation to all members of society, particularly women and youth.

The Peace Council’s proposed project targets the Kailali district of Nepal, an areas of diverse cultures, ethnicities, religions, and political beliefs. Such diversity causes frequent and violent clashes between groups, such as the Maoist movement that contributed towards the Nepal civil war. The Kailali district is especially liable to rape culture, with ongoing and systematic cases of gender-based violence commonplace.

There is a critical and urgent need to build social cohesion at the community level through dialogue and support to prevent further social tension and instability. It aims to bring youth from diverse backgrounds into dialogues, to establish networks and cooperation to support decision and policy making, promoting youth action to prevent conflict, and ensure respect for the rule of law, accountability, and good governance. In particular, the Youth Peace Council hopes to address gender-based violence by training young women journalists to give greater exposure to the issue. Furthermore, it seeks to establish a sustained conflict-prevention dialogue at the community level and to promote peaceful coexistence of diverse residents through cultural festivals and sports events held within schools and the community.