Global video conference at UNMIS HQ in Khartoum: Sudan was represented by three young people from Khartoum, El Fasher and Juba who exchanged views on peace with students in NY, DRC and Lebanon.
International Day of Peace was marked on 21 September in various Sudanese towns with cultural dances, comedy shows and military marches as well as readings of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's message.
In his message, read in Khartoum by Ameerah Haq, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General to Sudan, Mr. Ban noted that peace had remained elusive in countless communities around the world. "From the displaced person camps of Chad and Darfur to the byways of Baghdad, the quest for peace is strewn with setbacks and suffering."
Noting that the Day was also one of global ceasefire, the Secretary-General urged all nations, as the guns fell silent, to ponder the price of conflict. "We should resolve to vigorously pursue ways to make permanent this day's pause," he said.
The Day was also celebrated in El Fasher, Malakal, Wau, Kadugli and Abyei. Speaking at the event in El Fasher, a representative of the Women's Union stressed that it was time for women and children in Darfur to enjoy a peaceful life. |
She expressed hope that upcoming talks in Tripoli with the region's rebel groups would define who wanted peace and who did not.
Wau: Cultural performance
Highlighting progress made to achieve peace in Malakal, UNMIS Sector Commander Colonel Anil Singh Rathore noted that Joint Integrated Units - forces combining the country's two former armies -- had been deployed to protect an oilfield near the disputed border between North and Southern Sudan. Commending the parties for their commitment to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), he stressed that security in contentious areas should remain a prime concern.
In Kadugli, the Governor of South Kordofan state pointed to the many changes that had occurred in Sudan since the CPA was signed, appealing to the international community to further strengthen democracy and human rights in the country.
Kadugli: Football match
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