World Peace Day: Ashanti Regional Peace Council urges peaceful coexistence

As the world marks International Peace Day, the Ashanti Regional Peace Council (ARPC) is urging Ghanaians to share love, kindness, compassion and live peacefully with all humans.

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has declared September 21, each year as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire across the globe.

The theme for the 2021 celebration is, “Recovering Better for an Equitable and Sustainable World.”

According to the UN, this year’s theme is focusing on how to help everyone recover better from the COVID-19 pandemic, build resilience, and how to transform the world into one that is more equal, just, equitable, inclusive, sustainable, and healthier.

A statement issued by the ARPC to mark the day in Kumasi said the day offered the opportunity for us as Ghanaians to reflect on the roles we play in ensuring and sustaining peace in our homes, workplaces, communities, and the nation as a whole.

The statement signed by Rt. Rev. Christopher Nyarko Andam, the Regional Chairman, said peace was indivisible and it behooved on all of us to be mindful of our actions and utterances that were likely to stoke the fires of conflict.

It said no one would be immune from persecution, in times of conflict and that was why we needed to work collectively as individuals to ensure that peace prevailed at all times in our societies.

“Let us remember that a peaceful society is one where there is justice, fairness, transparency, honesty, equality, low-level of corruption, equitable distribution of resources, good relationship with neighbors, well-functioning of institutions, and acceptance of rights of others in a dignified manner,” part of the statement read.

It said to achieve and maintain peace in the Region, everyone had the responsibility to abide by the rule of law, be patient, trust the institutions of peace-building and support the National Peace Architecture at all times.

As Ghanaians, we all belong to state and non-state institutions that play key roles in the development of our nation. Our collective efforts would go a long way to shape the country into how we envision it.

It said with the rise in target killings, suicides, road accidents and citizen unrest, it was high time we fostered peace and paid attention to the early warning signs in our environment.

The statement also reminded Ghanaians that the happenings in Guinea and other nations in the sub-region should be a lesson to our leaders and the citizenry to support laid down procedures and measures to prevent such threats to our beautiful growing democracy.

“If there will be tranquility in our time and generations to come, then it would be determined by the steps towards achieving it today. Let us all contribute our quota in the fight for peace in our region and the country,” the statement implored the people in the Region.

It commended the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Ashanti Regional Minister, and the Security Councils of the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) for their efforts in maintaining peace in the Region over the years.