Youth, Empowerment and Long-term Peace Consolidation: The Case of Sierra Leone

When considering the findings of the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, the Commissioners acknowledged how the economic disenfranchisement of youth undeniably contributed to the outbreak of violence and eventual civil war in Sierra Leone (1991-2002). Years of education and employment inopportunity compounded, plaguing a majority of the population and by the 1990s the acute level of social immobility led many youths to join the fighting. Despite efforts to redress these issues in the post-conflict setting and over the last two decades, the socio-economic marginalisation of youth remains. Moreover, there continues to be a level of apprehension and negative perceptions by the wider population around youth and the inherent threat that they represent. This paper raises questions of how ongoing educational and employment barriers alongside continued negative perceptions of youth affect long-term peace consolidation in contemporary Sierra Leone.