By Grace Q. Bryant and Precious D. Freeman
The Ambassador of Great Britain to Liberia, Neil Bradley, is encouraging Liberians to maintain the peace because it is only Liberians who understand their peace.
He said, Liberia has enjoyed two decades of peace and that peace must not be taken for granted, because without peace there will not be good health care, education for the children, economy prosperity among others.
The British Ambassador made the remarks at the International Peace Day which was hosted by the CSO Consortium, Political Parties and Youth Stakeholders under the theme: Setting the Agenda for Youth Peaceful Participation Before During and After Election.
He also gave special attention to the dialogues on election activity and democracy in Liberia.
The ambassador observed that peace is very important in the democracy processes and as election is fast approaching it is very important that every individual’s views are respected in order to cease violence.
He added that most of the things that lead to violence is as a result of not respecting all views irrespective of the political parties, its members and or individuals.
“Liberia is a very young population and your opinions are important base on how you conduct yourselves in the elections is very important,” Ambassador Bradley stated.
He furthered that the newspapers, radio stations, social media and all other media outlets are responsible to report the facts in their stories, adding that if the media report misinformation, then they put the peace at risk.
“Civil Society Organization has an important role to play in management conduct of elections when it comes to human attention, and encouraged them to collaborate together, work together in order for the International Community to know the strength in togetherness,” he intoned.
At the same time, he advised participants to be tolerant and learn from their past and appreciate the peace so that at the end of the day the purpose thereof will be fully achieved.
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, said racism continues to poison institutions, social structures, and everyday life in every society.
“It continues to be a driver of persistent inequality. And it continues to deny people their fundamental human rights. It destabilizes societies, undermines democracies, erodes the legitimacy of governments, and the linkages between racism and gender inequality are unmistakable.”
On September 21, 2022, the United Nations observed the International Day of Peace under the global theme: End racism. Build peace.
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
The UN boss pointed out that achieving true peace entails much more than laying down arms. He said it requires the building of societies where all members feel that they can flourish and also involves creating a world in which people are treated equally, regardless of their race.
According to him, conflicts continue to erupt across the globe, causing people to flee.
SG Guterres noted that the UN has seen race-based discrimination at borders. “As COVID-19 keeps attacking our communities, we have seen how certain racial groups have been hit much harder than others. As economies suffer, we have seen hate speech and violence directed at racial minorities.”
Mr. Guterres noted that all have a role to play in fostering peace. And tackling racism is a crucial way to contribute.
“We can work to dismantle the structures that entrench racism in our midst. We can support movements for equality and human rights everywhere. We can speak out against hate speech – both offline and online. We can promote anti-racism through education and reparatory justice,” says UNSG Guterres
The SG invites all to join the efforts of the United Nations as it works towards a world free of racism and racial discrimination. “A world where compassion and empathy overcome suspicion and hatred. A world that we can truly be proud of.”
In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly declared the third Tuesday of September as International Day of Peace.
This day coincided with the opening day of the annual sessions of the General Assembly. The purpose of the day was and still remains, to strengthen the ideals of peace around the world.
