Bujumbura, Burundi—The inauguration ceremony of the Burundi chapter of the International Association of Parliamentarians for Peace (IAPP) was chaired by the president of the National Assembly of Burundi, Hon. Pascal Nyabenda, in collaboration with the president of the Senate, Hon. Révérien Ndikuriyo, on June 26, 2018. More than 90 participants including 70 parliamentarians attended the launching of IAPP-Burundi. The solemn ceremony was marked by the swearing in of the members of National Committee of IAPP, the signing of the Founding Resolution and the nomination of the president of the National Assembly, Hon. Pascal Nyabenda, as an Ambassador for Peace
The president of the Senate, the leader of the IAPP launching ceremony, testified to his commitment to UPF and announced the composition of the IAPP- Burundi National Committee. This 13-member committee is chaired by Hon. Anicet Niyongabo, second vice-president of the Senate. It is composed of seven deputies and six senators, all members of the Parliament of Burundi. They took the following oath:
- Considering the need in the exercise of our mission to embrace universally shared values in order to build a society, a nation and a world of lasting peace,
- Recognizing that through this ceremony, we receive a mandate to promote social peace, unity, solidarity and sustainable development,
We, deputies and Senators, members of the IAPP Bureau of Burundi,
1) Hereby affirm our commitment to respect the objectives and principles of the IAPP, namely to
- Arm ourselves with a new armor of love and peace;
- Promote principles and practices for peace, justice and good governance;
- Work for the common good of all without distinction, ethnicity, nationality, culture, race, gender, religion and political ideology;
- Seek sustainable solutions to the key challenges of our time: the loss of family values, territorial disputes, racial and religious conflicts, environmental degradation, climate change, violent extremism, poverty, hunger, corruption, etc.;
- Contribute actively to building a sustainable world of peace by promoting gender equity, and improving educational systems and methods for youth and women.
2) Affirm today our will to work for peace, to solve national, sub-regional, regional and international problems in order to build a world of peace rooted in universal and sustainable values. This I pledge.
In his closing speech, Hon. Nyabenda stressed his double mandate of honorary co-president of IAPP-Burundi and Ambassador for Peace. He promised to make the Burundi chapter of IAPP, together with the speaker of the Senate, one of the best models of IAPP in Africa. Lastly, he asked that international UPF delegations visit Burundi more regularly in order to carry out projects for peace and development.