AWLA President calls for greater investment in peace and justice across Africa

The President of the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) International, Amanda Demechi-Asagba, has called on African governments, lawyers and citizens to deliberately invest in peace, describing it as essential to the continent’s progress, unity and sustainable development.

Demechi-Asagba made the call in her presidential address to mark the 2026 International Day of Peace, observed on September 21, with the United Nations theme, “Invest in Peace – For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.”

She said the theme underscored the need to recognise “everyday architects of peace” who promote peace in communities, schools, workplaces, courtrooms and neighbourhoods, rather than leaving peace-building solely to international conferences.

According to her, African women lawyers are among those everyday architects of peace, with a responsibility to promote justice, mediation, human rights and peaceful resolution of disputes across the continent.

The AWLA president said Africa could not achieve meaningful progress without peace, noting that conflicts had continued to undermine education, justice systems, economic activities and the safety of women and children in several African countries.

She pointed to insecurity in Nigeria’s North-East, prolonged conflict in Mali and armed conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda as examples of situations where instability had affected women, girls and access to justice.

“Without peace, we cannot build. Without peace, the economy cannot grow. Investing in peace is investing in prosperity,” she said.
On unity, Demechi-Asagba stressed that peace goes beyond the absence of war, saying it also encompasses dignity, safety, equality and respect for human rights.

She said women lawyers in countries including Kenya and South Africa had played roles as mediators, observers and advocates for peaceful resolution of election-related tensions.

She also cited peaceful transitions and respect for the rule of law in Ghana and Zimbabwe as examples of how justice and democratic processes could contribute to stability.

The AWLA president further linked peace to development, saying the continent could not achieve the objectives of Agenda 2063 without sustained peace and security.
“When there is peace, the girl child in Nigeria can go to school; when there is peace, the market woman in Ghana can trade; when there is peace, the farmer in Kenya can farm; when there is peace, the entrepreneur in South Africa can create jobs,” she said.

She announced AWLA’s commitment to investing its legal expertise in free mediation and alternative dispute resolution initiatives aimed at preventing communal conflicts.
She also pledged that the association would advocate greater government investment in education and justice, while encouraging its members to promote tolerance in their homes, mentor young women lawyers as peace-builders and defend the dignity of all persons through the justice system.

Demechi-Asagba urged AWLA chapters across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe and other parts of the world to observe a minute of silence and take action in support of peace under the hashtag #InvestInPeace.

“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice. And as women lawyers, we are custodians of that justice,” she said.

READ FULL STATEMENT

PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF AWLA INTERNATIONAL*
*ON THE OCCASION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE*
21ST SEPTEMBER, 2026

*Official UN Theme: "Invest in Peace - For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day"*

Protocol,

My Dear Learned Colleagues, Distinguished Members of AWLA across the world, Partners for Peace, Gentle men and women of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Today, the world observes the International Day of Peace, now in its 45th year since the United Nations General Assembly created it in 1981. I welcome you all.

This year, the United Nations, under the leadership of Secretary-General António Guterres, has given us a most profound and timely theme: *"Invest in Peace - For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day."*

The UN says this year we must honour the *"everyday architects of peace."* Those who build peace not just at the conference table in New York or Geneva, but in our classrooms, our courtrooms, our markets, and our neighbourhoods.

As African Women Lawyers, we are those everyday architects. And today, from Lagos to Accra, from Nairobi to Johannesburg, I make a clarion call: Let us Invest in Peace, because peace is crucial to progress, unity and development.

*WHY THIS THEME MATTERS FOR AFRICA*

The Secretary-General reminds us that "Achieving peace is not something that just happens. It is a shared and decisive choice to invest in a better future." Peace is not passive. Peace is an investment. And Africa must make that investment.

For us in AWLA, this investment has three dividends:

1. We Must Invest in Peace for Progress.

There can be no progress where there is no peace. The African Development Bank tells us Africa loses over $18 Billion annually to conflicts.

Look across our Chapters:

In *Nigeria*, we know that insecurity in the North East has denied millions of girls their right to education. You cannot achieve SDG 4 when schools are closed for fear of abduction.

In *Mali*, protracted conflict has eroded the justice system and displaced thousands of women who are the backbone of the informal economy.

In the *Congo (DRC)* and in *Uganda*, armed conflict continues to fuel the worst forms of sexual violence against women and girls - a crime AWLA will never stop fighting.

Without peace, we cannot build. Without peace, the economy cannot grow. Investing in peace is investing in prosperity.

2. We Must Invest in Peace for Unity.

Peace is defined by more than just the absence of war; it encompasses dignity, safety, equality, and protection of human rights. It is the glue that holds our diverse continent together.

In *Kenya* and *South Africa*, we have seen how election-related tensions can threaten national unity. Our role as women lawyers has been to be mediators, to be observers, to be the voice that says "let us go to court, not to war."

In *Zimbabwe* and *Ghana*, we have seen how peaceful transitions and respect for the rule of law have become models of stability for the continent. Ghana shows us that unity is possible when justice is accessible to everyone, everywhere, every day.

The theme says *For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.* That means peace must be felt in every village square, every police station, and every courtroom. Not just in the capital city.

3. We Must Invest in Peace for Development.

The UN has called for greater attention to sustainable development, education, health, human rights, diplomacy and peacekeeping as foundations for peace.

You cannot achieve Agenda 2063 - The Africa We Want - without peace.

When there is peace, the girl child in *Nigeria* can go to school.
When there is peace, the market woman in *Ghana* can trade.
When there is peace, the farmer in *Kenya* can farm.
When there is peace, the entrepreneur in *South Africa* can create jobs.
When there is peace, the mother in *Uganda* and *Zimbabwe* can access healthcare.

Development does not happen by accident. It happens when we deliberately invest in peace.

*OUR CLARION CALL - HOW AWLA WILL INVEST*

Therefore, today I commit AWLA International to this investment:

We will invest our legal expertise in free mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution in our communities to prevent communal clashes.

We will invest our voice in advocating for governments to spend more on education and justice than on arms.

We will invest our time as everyday architects of peace - in our homes, teaching our children tolerance; in our workplaces, mentoring young women lawyers to be peacemakers; and in our courts, defending the dignity of every person.

Let us, from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Mali, Congo and Zimbabwe, and all our other Chapters worldwide, observe a minute of silence at noon today, and then stand up and take action under the hashtag *#InvestInPeace*.

True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice. And as women lawyers, we are custodians of that justice.

Let us Invest in Peace - For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day.

God Bless AWLA.
God Bless Africa.
God Bless the United Nations.

Thank you.

Amanda Demechi-Asagba Esq.