Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas – a Board of Trustee member of International Alert.

Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas

The current Secretary General of the 79-member African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas has been nominated to serve on the Board of Trustees of International Alert.

Speaking in a short ceremony in Brussels last week during which he accepted the nomination, Dr Chambas said that “it was important to have a civil society platform such as International Alert to be able to reach out to communities through peace building and development initiatives”. The Secretary General of International Alert, Mr. Dan Smith who was accompanied by the Chair of the Board, Mrs. Frida Nokken of Norway, and congratulated Dr Chambas on the nomination and also underscored the nexus between peace and development . He pointed out that peace was a necessary foundation for development anywhere in the world and added that not a single UN Millennium Development Goal could be achieved in states labeled as “failed” because there were high threats to security and stability in such places.

International Alert is a London-based independent peace building non-governmental organization that works to lay the foundations for lasting peace and security in communities affected by violent conflict. It works "towards a world where differences are resolved without erupting into violence" and it concentrates on three key missions:

To work directly with people affected by violent conflict by supporting their efforts to improve their prospects for peace; shape international policy and practice that affect peace building; and strengthen the expertise, impact and public profile of the peace building sector.

The Organization was established in the mid-1980s –an era dominated by the Cold War and though conflicts between nations started decreasing, internal conflicts and civil wars were rapidly increasing. International Alert therefore became the first organization to concern itself specifically with violent internal conflict at a time when there existed no internationally agreed mechanism for resolving internal conflict. International Alert therefore aimed at encouraging the creation of acceptable procedures and structures for resolving such situations.

Today, International Alert is supporting programmes in all parts of the world including some vital projects in ACP States such as Uganda, Sudan (Darfur region) and Burundi.

Dr Chambas becomes one of the 13 international trustees of this prestigious organization of which Archbishop Desmond Tutu was once a member from 1986-1993.

We wish Dr Chambas, ayeekoo once again.
THE EDITOR
MODERN GHANA COMMUNICATIONS LTD
ACCRA.