Message From World Peace Leaders

By Robert Egwea in London

November 21, 2008

Robert Egwea in the British Parliament. Photo by a Peace Delegate.

As world peace leaders converge on London for the Global Peace Festival organized by the Universal Peace Federation, there is a lot that we, Ugandans, can learn from them. The event kicked off yesterday 20 Nov 08, with the Plenary Session of the International Leadership Conference at the House of Commons (Committee Room 14). I was perhaps the only Ugandan that attended the meeting.

The session was opened by David Anderson MP. Speakers of the day were:

• Hon Amjad Al Majid, Jordanian Member of Parliament
• H.E. Dr Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, ex president of Sierra Leone (1996-2007)
• Mrs Ida Betty Odinga, Chairperson, League of Kenya Women Voters
• Rev Dr Marcus Bryabrooke (President, World Congress of Faiths)
• H.E. Anton Rop, ex-Prime Minister of Republic of Slovenie (2002-2004)
• Dr Hyunn Jin Moon, Chairman Global Peace Festival and Co-Chair Universal Peace federation

The theme for the conference is: “Towards a new paradigm of Leadership and Good Governance for peace and Development in Europe, Africa and Middle East”. According to Dr Kabbah, former President of Sierra Leone, good governance is subject to perception, but it is about rules and regulations, transparency and accountability. “Leaders are servants of the people” he emphasised. One can therefore say that leaders should not impose themselves on the people but humble themselves to the people in order to continue leading. I believe that Ugandans can learn a lot from this contention.

Mrs Odinga talked about the Kenyan experience during the last elections. Various speakers commended her role in calming the explosive situation in Kenya was, and held her husband, Raila Odinga in high esteem as a man of peace. Mrs Odinga said what led to the crisis was past injustices such as imbalance in allocation of resources. However, she emphasized that it is important to restore confidence of voters in the ballot so as to avoid loss of lives.  The cost to Kenya in terms of human lives and loss of properties was enormous.

“There is more that unites us than divides us as human beings”. This statement was made by Dr Moon in the context of world hotspots such as the Middle East, Korean Peninsular and some regions of Africa. As Ugandans, if only we could focus more on what unites us instead of dwelling on negatives, we could develop a better sense of belonging and thus live in harmony with others.

“We are one family under God” Dr Moon maintained. Again, this emphasizes the notion that we have a common destiny and should therefore seek peace with fellow human beings. Likewise, one can say that “we are one Ugandan family under God”. More so our motto says it all: “For God and My Country”.

As we left the House of Commons and headed for the hotel at the heart of London where delegates are staying, I shared a seat with Sir James Mangham, Founding President of the Republic of Seychelles. We introduced ourselves and got talking about world peace and in particular the situation in Africa. He said that he knew former President of Uganda Dr Milton Obote (RIP) and previous Kabaka of Buganda Sir Edward Mutesa (RIP). He also talked quite warmly about the current Uganda President Yoweri Museveni and his role in brokering peace in the region.

For more information about the Global Peace festival, please visit www.globalpeacefestival-uk.org. If you want to become a member of International Peace Forum, click on www.upf.org.

I would also like to take this opportunity to remind readers about the forthcoming Uganda Expo that will take place in London from 28-29 November 08; an event that aims to promote Uganda overseas, attract investors to the country, and to bring Ugandans together regardless of political affiliations. For more information visit www.ugandaopportunity.co.uk

 

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