As part of activities to commemorate the 2021 International Day of Peace, the National Peace Council organised a seminar with the Senior Correctional Centre at the Ghana Prisons Service Training School in Accra.
The seminar was to promote sustainable peace by educating the youth on the need to avoid violence, conflict and differences.
Addressing the inmates, who were debrided as ‘students’, the Hon. Deputy Minister for the Interior, Naana Eyiah encouraged them not to be bitter with society and misguided due to their situation but should take the opportunity to learn and reform for a better people and society.
She said the future of the country lies on the youth and that the young population like Ghana have a lot of potentials if the needed attention and investment are paid to the plight of the youth.
Hon. Naana Eyiah stated that it is a collective responsibility of all Ghanaians to actively contribute their quota in ensuring that Ghanaians live peacefully with each other, regardless of gender, religion, and ethnic origin, economic and social status.
‘Today’s celebration of the International Day of Peace should remind us to be tolerant of each other. We should do all that we can as a people to eliminate influences that can lead to fear and rejection of others. We should help young people develop capacities for independent judgment, critical thinking and ethical reasoning,’ she said.
According to Hon. Naana Eyiah, Ghana has been rated as the most peaceful country in West Africa for the past three years and the second most peaceful country in Africa this year. “This achievement I hope did not come out of the blue. It is due to our collective determination to ensure that we coexist as a people regardless of our differences”, she added.
The Hon. Deputy Minister, therefore, appealed to Ghanaians to continue to cherish the achievement and not to do anything to detract from the path taken and posterity.
“She assured the good people of Ghana that ‘As a government, the Ministry of the Interior continues to support all our citizens to live in peace and security”.
On his part, the Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev. Dr Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, said the Correctional Centre serves as a training grounds for the inmates to among other things acquire skills to be self-employed and also become the agent of peace.
The celebration is on the theme ‘Recovering Better for an Equitable and Sustainable World’.
Each year, the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on 21st September. The day was instituted by the UN General Assembly to strengthen the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
