Durban - Terrorism was on the rise in Africa, but philosophies of non-violence had a powerful role to play in solving the continent’s problems, said Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.
The chairwoman of the African Union Commission (AUC) was speaking at the weekend after receiving the 2015 Africa Peace Award on behalf of the commission.
She lamented the gap between the rich and poor, financial exclusion of young people and the conflicts in African countries which have displaced millions.
“We receive this award with great humility. The nature of conflict has changed. It’s no longer internal, it’s now international. Terrorism and extremism are rising and are affecting Africa too. I thought we should visit the issue of non-violence because it is the best way of dealing with conflicts, to bring African solutions to African challenges,” Dlamini Zuma told guests at the award ceremony at Durban’s ICC.
She spoke about the AU’s Agenda 2063 plan which counts empowering young people among its top priorities.
Agenda 2063 provides a vision of a prosperous, peaceful and integrated Africa by the year 2063.
Another element of the continent’s blueprint for development is “Silencing the Guns” by 2020.
“We need to promote a dialogue that will be diverse in approach. The dialogue must be born out of respect for culture and religious beliefs among other things.
“Africa is rich, but the gap between the rich and poor needs to be addressed. We must create a prosperous Africa where the gap between the rich and poor is not wide because the presence of this gap is the cause of crime and other social ills,” Dlamini Zuma said.
“It is not possible to have sustainable peace without dealing with poverty and injustices against the African people. So long as half of the African population live below a dollar per day, it will not be possible to achieve peace. We need to ensure that we have financial inclusion of the young and the poor,” she said.
Addressing the dignitaries, President Jacob Zuma said the award was testimony to South Africa’s resolve in ensuring the existence of peace.
“Your work in some areas as peacekeepers and conflict resolution makes you the most important elements of peace efforts in and outside South Africa. Peace will go a long way in ensuring that our people contribute towards the future of our continent,” said Zuma.
He called for European leaders to deal with migration in a way that would minimise harm to refuge seekers.
Founder and executive director of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (Accord), Vasu Gounden said Accord had, for nearly a quarter of a century, developed into the largest conflict management institution in Africa and among the top five globally.
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