IRISH AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH ECOWAS MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT ON SUSTAINABLE PEACE IN THE REGION.

The Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency, Sean Hoy, has addressed Members of the Joint Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security APRM; Legal and Judicial Affairs; Human Rights, Child Protection and other Vulnerable Groups; Gender, Women Empowerment and Social Protection, during their first meeting in the ongoing Second Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament on Wednesday 28 September 2016.

Ambassador Hoy, in his address on the framework for sustainable development in the ECOWAS region informed the Members of the joint committee co-chaired by Honorables – Yaya Sangra (Mali), Chernor Bah (Sierra Leone), Marie Anne Fofana (Guinea) and Padumhekou Christophe Tchao (Togo), that he will leverage on his position to draw the attention of the European Union and the Republic of Ireland to bring in direct investment in the West African region. This was in responds to Honorable Chernor Bah’s position that peace could rarely be achieved when the youths are not gainfully employed. He requested to know what steps are being taken to bring direct investment to the region.

Amb. Hoy, however, responded that the region is endowed naturally to create employment for its populace, he specifically pointed out that the region is fertile for agriculture to thrive as the chief employment of the people, and in order to eradicate poverty in the region, “agriculture has to be seen as a dignified job”. He specifically raised his concern on the rate of poverty and role of the Lake Chad basin which has been identified as a hot bed for the radicalization of youths in the region, as pointed out by Hon. Sadiqu Ibrahim (Nigeria). According to Hoy, Ireland is very much aware of the situation, if poverty is not eradicated, conflict will not end”. To this end, he advocated for inter-group relationship between communities especially those in the remote areas to exchange ideas and cultural values. The Ambassador casts the lots particularly on women’s participation in peace resolution in support of Hon. Seconde’s (Togo) opinion that women have a greater role to play in sustainable peace development.

In his concluding remarks, Amb. Hoy stated that “you can not force peace process; there are obligations on all our parliaments in peace building. Without a legal framework, you can not rely on goodwill”. He thanked the Joint Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security APRM; Legal and Judicial Affairs; Human Rights, Child Protection and other Vulnerable Groups; Gender, Women Empowerment and Social Protection for having him, he also assured them of his willingness to provide technical assistance when called upon.