The International Association of World Peace Advocates (IAWPA) has said that its mandate was to enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and UNESCO’s culture of peace programmes, “particularly the maintenance of peace, security and restoration of human dignity.”
IAWPA’s spokesperson, Ambassador Emmanuel Nkweke, disclosed this Friday at the commemoration of the International Day for Poverty Eradication in Port Harcourt.
Nkweke said the Association was working through country offices to appoint volunteers and promote the idea of volunteers around the world.
According to him, the IAWPA strength “lies in its volunteers and thousands of professionals who bring skills to communities yearly within borders to help local people become the driving force in their communities.”
He noted that IAWPA had done a lot to support an electoral and peace-making mission both at national and international levels.
He said, “The UN- International Association of World Peace Advocates has done a lot to support electoral and peace-making missions at national and international levels. We carry out development activities at the grassroots and in the government with private sectors and agencies.
“We equally work with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the South and the North.”
He thanked the Rivers state Governor, Siminalaye Fubara, for “his peaceful disposition,” stressing that without peace there could be no meaningful development.
Also speaking, IAWPA world peace president, Ambassador Pers Stafsen, said the organisation was active around the world, heading into crises to help the world’s most vulnerable, “promoting sustainable development, protecting human rights and as well as advancing peace.”
He said the UN and its agencies had helped over one million women overcome pregnancy complications.
“For example, UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) are core partners of the Global Polio Eradication initiative, which has helped reduce the polio cases by over 99 per cent since 1988,” Stafsen said.
