Addis Ababa - Africa will mark International Day of Peace (Peace Day) with the rest of the world on Tuesday, says the Chairman of the African Union (AU) Commission, Jean Ping.
Ping said the day would have a special meaning for Africans, as it would be the culmination of the 2010 Year of Peace and Security, declared during the AU Special Session on the Consideration and Resolution of Conflicts in Africa, held in Tripoli on 31 August 2009.
Ping said the day would be an opportunity for Africa's leaders to renew the pledge they made in Tripoli and to show, by personal example, their commitment to peace.
While peace cannot be achieved in a day, 21 September nevertheless affords Africans the opportunity to celebrate notable successes in the realm of peace-building and to put peace in practice through a collective, co-operative moment of unity, he said.
Violent conflicts, he said, had significantly decreased since the mid-1990s because of the common resolve among African leaders and support from the United Nations and other international partners.
Ping, who said estimates had pointed to a combined economic loss of around 300 billion USD since 1990 by African countries affected by conflict, added that addressing the scourge of conflict was critical to the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He said the AU, in partnership with UN and other actors, was determined to leave no stone unturned to end conflict and sustain peace in Africa.
