Government and United Nations marked International Peace Day

23 Sep 2014

Government and United Nations marked International Peace Day

22 September 2014 - The Government of Burundi and the United Nations system on Sunday marked the International Peace Day at Kamenge Youth Centre in Bujumbura, with a concert of modern and traditional music.

For three hours, South African singer Nia Pearl, Burundian star Yoya and Troubadours Band, slammers and the Club Cultural Ihunja performed for a large crowd.

In his speech, the Director General of Culture, LeonardSinzinkayo, who represented the minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, said that "the world needs peace as bread" and recognized that Burundi, as the most of African countries, has experienced recurring periods of conflict. "We have the duty to sew definitively the social fabric torn apart by a painful past we've been through and give hope of life to our daughters and sons," he said.

For his part, Deputy SRSG and UN Resident Coordinator, Agostinho Zacarias, congratulated the Burundians who were "able, after many sacrifices and a sincere dialogue to put an end to the conflict and signed Arusha Peace Agreements." He reminded that "peace and security are essential to social progress and sustainable development."

The concert was supported by UNDP, BNUB, UNICEF, UNFPA, Kamenge Youth Centre and the British NGO Peace One Day.

This year, 2014, the Peace Day is dedicated to the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the "Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace" which enshrines the principle that "establishing peace and security is a prerequisite for sustainable development and the full exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms."