The Kenya’s President, William Ruto has revealed that nearly 16 different conflicts are raging on Africa continent, which are from the Western Sahel to the Horn of Africa in the East, and from the Lake Chad basin to the Great Lakes region.
Ruto who disclosed in his remarks at the Summit on Peace for Ukraine in Switzerland on Friday added that Africa’s many long- running and long-forgotten wars continue unabated, wreaking unimaginable devastation on a daily basis.
According to him, “In the Sudan, a senseless war continues to cause death, destruction, hopelessness among people, threatening the integrity of that country. Regionally, four of the top 10 countries facing acute food insecurity as a result of conflict in Horn of Africa.
“In West Africa, the number of schools closed reached over 13,250, depriving more than 2.5 million children of an education. As of June 2023, nearly 7,800 primary schools, attended by 1.4 million children were closed in the Sahel region”, he said.
Kenya’s President pressed further that cumulatively, millions of lives have been lost, while 40.4million Africans have been forcibly displaced. “Since 2011, the number of newly displaced people has been rising steadily and, in 2022-23 alone, stood at over 3.2 million people.
“Today, a farmer in rural Kenya is acutely aware that there is war in Ukraine because the cost of fertiliser has gone up and it now takes 45 days longer for consignments to reach our port because shipping routes have changed”.
“The outbreak of these wars is, without doubt, a massive indictment on the current peace infrastructure, especially the United Nations Security Council, which is trapped in chronic gridlock”, he said.
The President stated that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been a horrifying spectacle of carnage, devastation, which has left 500,000 people dead, and 7.1 million displaced in its wake. “Across the world, people and nations are enduring the negative consequences of disrupted supply chains”.
He said Kenya’s position has been very clear that Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is unlawful, unjust and violation of fundamental principles of international law which honour the sovereign equality of nations, upholds their territorial integrity and advocates the peaceful resolution of all disagreements.
“Secondly, a commitment to peace makes certain fundamental concessions inevitable. This Summit should not be a meeting of just friends; this should be a meeting of both friend and foe.
“To proceed in the positive direction initiated by this summit, we must collectively move towards ending this war through inclusive dialogue. The fact is, no meaningful headway can be made without bringing Russia to the table, and this is a gap that must be addressed with urgency.
“An American, General, Norman Schwarzkopf said, “The more we sweat in peace, the less webleed in war.” It is time for leaders of the world to talk about peace, negotiate peace, work hard to build peace and configure a global strategic framework that integrates peace as the sole means and end of human endeavour”, he said.