All segments of the Cameroonian society have been urged to work together for peace which is a requirement for development.

“Peace has no price. You only get to know the value of peace when you are in conflict,” stated the President of the Parliamentarians’ Network for Peace and Conflict Resolution (PNPCR), Hon. Cyprian Awudu Mbaya, during the opening of a conference on September 21, 2015, at the National Assembly to commemorate the International Day of Peace.

Chaired by the House Speaker’s representative and Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Théodore Datouo, the commemoration featured a workshop to train parliamentarians on peace and conflict resolution. While reminding the attending Senate and National Assembly Bureau members, cabinet ministers, diplomats as well as religious, traditional and civil society leaders of the need for society to practice tolerance, Hon. Awudu Mbaya also underscored the threat of the proliferation of arms and the nefarious activities of armed groups to peace.

“Boko Haram, in the name of God, lay down your weapons and put an end to these attacks. We are all humans. There is no gain in shedding human blood,” he beckoned.

With “Peace first in life” as its slogan, the newly-created PNPCR organised the event to launch its activities in partnership with the New York-based Universal Peace Federation (UPF) which honoured Speaker Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, Hon. Mbah Ndam and Hon. Raymond Mengolo Avomo with distinctions as “Ambassadors of Peace”.

The commemoration of the International Day of Peace on the theme “Partnerships for Peace, Dignity for All” was also highlighted by a statement from UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon in which he called on all to stand with the millions of people across the world who are suffering the devastating impact of violence and conflict.