UNITAMS organizes workshop on peace culture and hate speech rejection in West Darfur

The Mediation and Peace-building Department of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) (West Darfur State Office) organized on Sunday, in cooperation with the Canadian War Child Organization, a workshop on spreading the culture of peace and rejection of hate speech with the participation of 30 participants of the members of civil society organizations, political, legal and media activists, youth, displaced persons and nomads, as well as a number of public service employees.
The workshop, which is the part of the activities of the Peace-building Project in West Darfur State, aims at restoration of peaceful coexistence and support of the community in West Darfur to contribute in spreading the culture of peace and rejection of hate speech.
For his part, the Representative of the Secretary of the Higher Council for Community Peace at West Darfur State Ahmed Sharif, when addressing the opening of the workshop, praised the great role played by the United Nations organizations in supporting efforts to establish peace and stability in the region, which had a good impact on the local community, government and people, referring to the consequences of the events which the state has been witnessing during the last period, a matter that requires intensive efforts to be exerted by the government and organizations working in the state to restore the situation to its previous situation.
Sharif revealed the plans and programs of the Higher Council for Community Peace to restore conditions by contributing to the implementation of service projects for all citizens of the state, stressing the importance of the role of civil society organizations in spreading a culture of peace and peaceful coexistence among the components of society, stressing the council’s serious endeavor to adopt and implement recommendations of the workshop.
Meanwhile, the UNICEF Director in the state reviewed, on behalf of the UNITAMS office in West Darfur, the factors that contributed to the intensification of conflicts in the state, stressing the importance of this workshop in dealing with the issues on spreading of the culture of peace and rejection of hate speech, calling on everyone to abide by the law to obtain rights instead of using simple criminal problems to demand services that lead to fueling conflicts in the region. He also called on all participants to take utmost advantage of the workshop’s outcome and implement them on the ground, urging them to work as ambassadors of peace to contribute to combating hate speech, which is one of the factors fueling conflicts among the community.