By Abdulai Fasineh Dumbuya
The National Peace Education Advisor at United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Idriss Gibson Mansaray has called on the government to address what he described as ‘due justice’ issues for sustainable peace in the country.
As Sierra Leone joined the global community to commemorate International Peace Day on the 21st of September 2023, Mansaray explained the importance of the commemoration of the day to the people of Sierra Leone with the global theme: “Action for Peace, Ambition for Global Goal.”
He noted that they are calling on the government to address those issues since they have the responsibility to ensure the establishment of good institutions as well as empowering those institutions for effective and efficient service delivery to the people of Sierra Leone.
To consolidate peace, he however said that it is worthy of consideration by the government as well as the people to recognize that peace cannot be fostered by one person alone and requires the collective participation of everybody.
“If individuals are not peaceful in their various actions in the country, the government in turn can never have peace in its activities. Peace is not something you can give out; it is something you have to have within yourself. Peace starts with oneself, that is, your individual responsibility,’’ he emphasized.
Under the terms of the truce, he noted that the kind of peace the country looks forward to in this material moment is active peace which he described as the collective responsibility of everyone and added that: “This is totally absent in the country”.
According to Mansaray, 'justice due' is the fundamental right of people and these rights include the right to food, protection, and life, among others. He added that these rights are as important to the people as it is for their livelihoods.
“The guns are silent but there is no peace. This is due to the fact that the fundamental rights of people or due justice are being deprived. And this type of conflict is better known as passive peace,’’ he said.
He went on to say that inasmuch as peace and justice work in line with the fundamental rights of individuals, the judiciary has to be frank in administering justice otherwise injustice can lead to a fragile state. .
He went on to describe bad governance as an internal conflict, while corruption is an external conflict, as well as saying the latter is not easy to resolve but can be managed.
Copyright © 2023 Politico (22/09/23)
