The International Human Rights Commission (IHRC) in Sierra Leone has celebrated with the rest of the world, the 20th Anniversary of the International Day of Peace on Wednesday, 21st September, 2022.
The global theme for this year's celebration is 'END RACISM:BUILD PEACE.'
The IHRC is an international intergovernmental organisation with full ECOSOC / AU mandate and also UN Consultative status. The organization also have the mandate to monitor local and national elections and have full diplomatic recognition.
IHRC is a neutral, transnational intergovernmental organization based in Switzerland. Since its inception; IHRC has operated mainly in the international arena in zone of war and military operations, territorial and national conflicts, and humanitarian disasters.
IHRC is positively verified over the years by state and local authorities as well as organizations operating supranational and locally in over one hundred countries around the world. The primary goal of the IHRC is to promote and implement into legislation and customs 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.
IHRC Commissioner in Sierra Leone, Envoy to the ECOWAS Region, Ambassador Rev.Dr.Momodu Conteh, issued a statement in their Freetown office in which he stated that racism is an enemy of progress of a nation.
He said the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Gutares, confirmed that racism continues to imprison institutions' social structure and people's everyday life in every society.
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"It is a driver of persistent inequality and it continues to deny people their fundamental human rights. It also destabilises societies and undermines democracies and erodes the legitimacy of governments," a view also re-echoed by the Secretary General of IHRC.
Ambassador Conteh said Africa is responsible for its own plight from the days of slavery till today.
"We are still selling each other and racism hinders sustainable development. It is a major investors love quit and navigable terrain for any serious venture to thrive there. It is incumbent upon Africa leaders to endeavor to keep the peace," he said.
He said sustaining the peace, government is mandated by voters to rule and govern them to secure, and protect life and property, preparing a reasonable working environment for her subject.
"Government should be the key enforcer of peace by ensuring the rule of law and order, but not using the law for witch hunting. No one tribe or region can lead a nation to national development. Racism, tribalism and regionalism expound on this malaise and fester conflict and it is the bedrock of civil war. It erodes the legitimacy of governments," he said.
He said any government that embarks on that malaise, either surreptitiously or openly, would at some point be exposed and be frowned upon especially if it's a donor driven economy.
