The International Day of Peace (IDP) is observed around the world on 21 September. The UN has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
The IDP was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.
The 2021 theme for the International Day of Peace is “Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world”. We celebrate peace by standing up against acts of hate online and offline, and by spreading compassion, kindness, and hope in the face of the pandemic, and as we recover.
In 2021, as we heal from the COVID-19 pandemic, we join the international community and the people of Sierra Leone to be inspired to think creatively and collectively about how to help everyone recover better, how to build resilience, and how to transform our world into one that is more equal, more just, equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and healthier.
We applaud the government of Sierra Leone for setting up the National Peace Commission and hope that it will be given the full capacity to build sustainable peace and national cohesion.
Our country ranks 46 in the Peace Index slipping 10 places from 2020 GPI. In spite of the fact that we rank 4th in Sub- Sahara Africa, we call for more efforts from government, stakeholders and citizens to improve our standing as a peaceful state among the community of nations.
The pandemic is known for hitting the underprivileged and marginalized groups the hardest. We salute the citizenry for enduring and adhering to COVID19 preventive measures. Fambul Tok will continue with the roll out of the Wan Fambul National Framework in order to give communities agency in their development, peace and cohesion.
Fambul Tok calls on all stakeholders to help address the root causes of conflict and create conditions that foster peace and to particularly resolve residual post elections conflicts relating to chieftaincy leadership. We call on government and political parties to foster an environment of tolerance and the tenets of good governance.
