United Nations Resident Coordinator's keynote statement at the International Day of Peace programme.

I am honoured to be here today, on behalf of the United Nations, at the celebration of the International Day of Peace. I would like to commend everyone for their continuous commitment to sustaining peace in Sierra Leone, including by organizing this symposium to call the attention of leaders and citizens to the need for action in peacebuilding. Indeed, this year’s theme of the International Day of Peace is “Action for Peace; Our Ambition for the Global Goals”.

The call for action for peace is particularly relevant to Sierra Leone, as it is currently experiencing a political deadlock between the ruling party and the main opposition party as a result of the 24 June elections.  

Political deadlocks and conflicts that descend into violence hamper peace and stability and, consequently, undermine development and social cohesion and frequently cause unnecessary suffering among people.  

I, therefore, welcome the initiative of the Commonwealth Secretary-General to facilitate a dialogue process between the ruling and main opposition parties, with the support of ECOWAS, AU, and the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion. As the parties prepare for the dialogue, I would like to express my hopes for a genuine and honest commitment by all stakeholders involved in this process to resolve the current political impasse without delay for the benefit of the citizens of Sierra Leone and the progress of the country’s democratic process.

In April 2016, the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council adopted two resolutions on peacebuilding, introducing the concept of “sustaining peace”, which encompasses activities aimed at preventing the outbreak, escalation, continuation, and recurrence of conflict.

In January 2017, the Secretary-General of the United Nations placed conflict prevention for sustaining peace at the heart of the United Nations agenda, stating that the best manner to prevent societies from relapsing into crisis is to strengthen their resilience through investment in inclusive and sustainable development.

In a major 2018 report, ‘Pathways for Peace’, the United Nations and the World Bank underscored the close relationship between peace and development, highlighting that some of the most acute risks of violence today stem from exclusion, marginalization, and injustices rooted in inequalities across groups. These risks are frequently compounded by exogenous economic shocks, climate change, and competition for resources. We know that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have had a devastating impact on fragile economies.  

On 20 July 2023, the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, presented to the UN Member States his Policy Brief on A New Agenda for Peace, which outlines his vision for multilateral efforts for peace and security, based on international law, for a world in transition. The New Agenda outlines an extensive and ambitious set of recommendations that recognize the interlinked nature of many of the challenges we face. Chiefly, it highlights again the importance of violence prevention, encouraging member states to frame prevention around national strategies to address the different drivers and enablers of violence in societies. (We have made available some copies of the New Agenda for Peace here in the hall.)

Although prevention has been at the core of peacebuilding in the United Nations’ agenda, we are observing that conflicts and wars are increasingly taking the place of diplomacy, dialogue, and negotiation. Does this mean that prevention has failed?

The concept of violence prevention has remained nebulous, as it has been used to describe everything from the deployment of security forces to restrain people from protesting to development activities.

The lack of clarity on what violence prevention means in practice has led many governments to fail in keeping to the social contract signed with their people, increasing confrontations between people and security forces and decreasing trust in state institutions amidst an increased sense of inequality and social injustice.

Effective violence prevention strategies have to address root causes of grievances, inequality, and marginalization, particularly of young people; engage multiple stakeholders from all sides of the social and political divide; and promote a sense of belonging and social inclusion.

Sierra Leone is in the process of developing a new Medium-Term National Development Plan for the next five years and has already identified five big game changers which lay out the pathway that will steer the country toward sustainable development. It is important to explicitly incorporate within the planning and implementation under each game changer effective violence prevention strategies to address the root causes of inequality and marginalization. This will hugely contribute to sustaining peace and national cohesion and help move the country forward.

I commend His Excellency the President for his stated commitment to decrease political tension and promote national cohesion. Likewise, I commend the opposition leaders for their commitment to maintaining peace in the country. We call on both the ruling and opposition parties to peacefully resolve their differences and jointly contribute to diffuse tensions in communities across the country, preaching cohesion and unity. They must explicitly and consistently counter divisive ethno-regional discourse and hate speech that has prevailed during the electoral period and beyond.

Political tensions are perhaps natural at a time of elections, but if they are not addressed quickly in the appropriate manner once the elections are over, they risk becoming an obstacle to national development and cohesion, creating an atmosphere of instability in the country.

Government and social actors at all levels, including political parties, have a shared responsibility for ensuring that multiple grievances are addressed in the appropriate manner and that conflicts are resolved peacefully. We must never forget that conflict prevention is always far better than peacebuilding.

As we know, gender equality is also one of the fundamental aspects of resilience and peace, as women, children, and other most vulnerable groups are disproportionately affected in times of economic hardship and conflict. We would like to encourage all of you to discuss how to address their economic, political, and social aspirations through innovative and inclusive approaches so as not to leave anyone behind.

We in the United Nations encourage continued dialogue at all levels, just as we encourage inclusion and respect for the rule of law and human rights at all levels.  

Therefore, the UN subscribes to any effort that can contribute to reducing violence and resolving disputes peacefully while promoting social inclusion, addressing the justice needs of people, and reducing polarization and distrust, particularly in this crucial period of the country’s democracy.  

Thank you for your kind attention.