The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Executive Board approved Tunisia's capital Tunis as a candidate, along with Abuja in Nigeria, Gaborone in Botswana and Dakar in Senegal, during its meeting here.

The Evaluation Commission, led by vice-president Uğur Erdener, is set to propose a maximum of two for the IOC Executive Board to recommend for consideration by the IOC membership.

The host of the fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympics is due to be elected at the IOC Session in Buenos Aires in October.

Tunisia was barred from the race in May and the IOC said its bid would be on hold until the country took steps to end discrimination against Israeli athletes.

It came after an incident in March when a national court banned four Israeli athletes from competing at the World Junior Taekwondo Championships in Hammamet. 

According to a statement from the IOC, they have now received assurances from the Tunisian Government that competitors from Israel are welcome to participate at events in the country.

A letter sent by the Tunisian Government to the IOC last month gave the "required guarantees to strictly respect the principles and rules of the Olympic Movement and the international sports organisations concerned".

It also promised to "ensure that all athletes and sporting delegations can now come and participate in any international sporting events held in Tunisia, under the same conditions and without any discrimination".

The IOC then informed the Tunisian Olympic Committee earlier this month that their bid was "fully reinstated within the normal selection process".

The IOC are leading a wider sporting effort to clamp down on athletes from a certain nation being barred from an event in another country for political reasons.

There have been a spate of restrictions on Israeli athletes competing in Islamic countries.

The confirmation from the Executive Board marks the end of the dialogue phase and the Evaluation Commission will now further assess the four bids.

Visits to all four candidates for the 2022 Youth Olympic Games were conducted by the IOC, who decided earlier this year to actively seek an African host for the event, in May to "gather information on the motivations for hosting and on the potential master plan".

The IOC delegation also visited existing venues and facilities in the countries.

Nowhere in Africa has ever hosted an Olympic Games event, but it is hoped the 2022 youth version could pave the way for an eventual Summer Olympics.

Buenos Aires is due to host the third Summer YOG in October to follow the first two editions in Singapore and Nanjing in 2010 and 2014 respectively.