URI Presents Africa Peace Award to EASF

A delegation from the United Religions Initiative (URI) Africa visited Eastern Africa Standby Force on 24th January 2020 at the EASF Secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya.

The visit aimed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organizations and present URI Prestigious Africa Peace Award to EASF.

Since 2007, URI’s Africa Peace Award has recognized exceptional leaders and organizations in sustainable peace, development, environmental protection, democracy, reconciliation, inter-religious and inter-cultural harmony, and peaceful co-existence.
URI presented the Africa Peace Award in recognizing the outstanding work of EASF in terms of peace support activities ever since it was established as a regional mechanism. The Peace Award is a symbol to compliment the remarkable commitment and great efforts of EASF to enhance peace, security and stability in its region and beyond.
 
During his welcoming remarks, the Director of EASF Dr. Abdillahi Omar Bouh underscored the importance of URI in bridging religious and cultural differences as a means to eradicating violence. The Eastern Africa region is relatively volatile, whereby it continues to experience some form of violent conflict in Africa. These conflicts have led to loss of lives and property thereby violating basic human rights.

To solve this kind of problem, it needs working through grassroots interfaith cooperation, bridging religious and cultural differences, ending religiously and culturally motivated violence and creating cultures of peace, justice, and healing and working together for the good of the communities and the region. “I find cooperation with the United Religions Initiative being quite important in achieving these goals”, Dr. Bouh added.

The Director of URI- Africa, Ambassador Mussie Hailu noted that, singing the MoU with EASF to work in partnership to enhance peace and security and move forward the effort of the Africa Union in Silencing the Guns. URI-Africa is very well aware that EASF has been at the forefront in advancing peace and security in the Eastern Africa Region.

“URI Africa presents today the Africa Peace Award to EASF in appreciation, acknowledgment, and recognition of the organization’s excellent work to build a peaceful and stable region. The Award is also in recognition of EASF’s effort as one of the five regional multidimensional Forces consisting of Military, Police and Civilian components to provide a capability for rapid deployment of Forces to carry out preventive deployment”, Amb. Hailu said.

The United Religious Initiative Africa and EASF signed MoU to work together and move forward the regional cooperation and partnership in order to enhance peace and security on the continent.

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