By Fadda Bakish
The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) in Sierra Leone is celebrating with the rest of the world the 20th Anniversary of the International Day of Peace Wednesday 21st September 2022. The global theme for this year’s celebration is “END RACISM BUILD PEACE”.
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21st September. The United Nations General Assembly had declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Gutares confirmed that Racism continues to prison institutions’ social structures and people’s everyday lives in every society. It is a driver of persistent inequality. It continues to deny people their fundamental human rights, It also destabilizes societies, undermines democracies, and erodes the legitimacy of Governments a view also re-echoed by the Secretary General of the IHRC.
IHRC’s Commissioner in Sierra Leone, Ambassador Rev Dr. Momodu Conteh Commissioner, Envoy to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region issued a statement from its Freetown office in which he stated that racism erodes the activities of a government as it will never enhance any form of development.
He described racism as “a prejudice, (judgment and sentence before the hearing ) discrimination, (we place you in a lower cadre forgetting and ignoring that all men are created equal) or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized,” he said and added that racism hinders sustainable development, citing an example that Major Investors love quite and navigable terrains for any serious ventured to thrive there it is incumbent upon African leaders to endeavor to KEEP THE PEACE!
“Racism undermined democracy. Democracy is a government of the people for the people by the people! NO ONE TRIBE OR REGION can lead a nation to National development. Racism, tribalism, and regionalism expound on this malaise and festers conflict and it is the bedrock of civil war. It erodes the legitimacy of governments,” he noted.
Speaking about peace, Rev. Dr. Conteh described it as “a means of living our lives selflessly, treating others with respect, sharing the extra that comes to us with others who have been shortchanged. It means being in the wilderness without fear but with respect for the world around us.”
He said sustaining peace is the mandate of every government given by the voters to rule and govern them to secure, and protect life and property, preparing a reasonable working environment for her subjects.
“Government should be the key enforcer of peace by ensuring the rule of law and order but NOT using the law for witch hunting. Africa is responsible for our plight from the days of slavery till today we are still selling each other,” the Commissioner remarked and furthered that any Government that embarks on this malaise either surreptitiously or openly would at some point be exposed and be frowned upon especially as a donor-driven economy. “That government soon becomes a pariah government,” Dr. Conteh said.
The International Human Rights Commission Foundation is a neutral, transnational intergovernmental organization based in Switzerland. It is an experienced, highly specialized peace negotiator and humanitarian aid provider, managing the work of the international IHRC Group. Thus, it guarantees professionalism, reliability, quality, independence, and transparency of all members of the IHRC Group and their activities.
It is positively verified over the years by state and local authorities as well as organizations operating supranational as well as locally in over 100 countries around the world. The primary goal of the IHRC Group is to promote and implement the legislation, customs, and standards applicable to the full extent of HUMAN RIGHTS and all the resulting principles of local and international coexistence. Respect for these principles applies to everyone, everywhere in the world. The IHRC Group works for everyone, but also for everyone, regardless of skin color, religion, political affiliation, origin or wealth. And because one of the fundamental human rights is to live in peace, a key task for the IHRC Group is to work with national governments to seek and promote peace. The IHRC as an organization works and is actively involved mainly in the areas of diplomatic disputes, armed conflicts, and war. As highly experienced organizations, based on the group of world-class specialists operating within them, the IHRC Group very effectively seeks, negotiates, and implements new ways of reconciliation, mutual cooperation, and resolving existing disputes in a peaceful manner.
