Peace Building Takes Centre Stage at CYF7

Matters surrounding the issue of peace building were discussed on Tuesday at the 2nd thematic plenary session of the Commonwealth Youth Forum 7 on board the Caribbean Princess cruise ship in Trinidad.

Regional Youth Caucus, Africa Chair, Samuel Kavuma used the example of young people growing up in his native Uganda stating that most Ugandan youth have either grown up in or have experienced some form of armed conflict in their lifetime. Kavuma cautioned the delegates that many countries which the world may view as being ‘stable’ could slip into conflict at any time if deep seated problems are not dealt with urgently.

He stressed that the world needs to understand the difference between ‘negative peace’, which is simply the absence of war, and ‘positive peace’, the establishment of non-exploitative structures working toward peace even in times of war. He said a lot of people tend to highlight young people who engage in conflict but not those who work toward peace building.

Folade Mutota, Co-founder of the Women’s Institute for Alternative Development in Trinidad and Tobago, called on delegates to mobilize the human intelligence around them. She stressed the importance of organizing around issues and across physical, language and social borders. Mutota also looked at the relationship between genders and types of violence in Trinidad and Tobago. She said the relationships between men and men, men and women and women and women need to be deconstructed.

Jonathan Burke, Programme Manager of the UNDP sponsored Jamaica Violence Prevention Peace and Sustainable Development Programme, said Jamaican communities have seen many peace treaties with gangs and many programmes from donor agencies but communities remain disillusioned because very little changes. He said many people involved in crime want to turn their lives around and want good lives for their children, but they don’t know how to utilize the skills they have and how to access information and assistance.

Burke also took issue with the way the term ‘peace’ is classified. He said when communities are classified as being ‘at peace’ in Jamaica in reality it is just a ceasefire because the police have not recovered the guns and ammunition used in violence in these communities. Gangsters are afraid to come forward to surrender their guns in Jamaica, he said, because they do not trust the police.