The Sunhak Peace Prize was established based upon the vision of “One Family Under God,” promoted by the founders, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, to bring peaceful future for humanity. Today, we are facing intensifying problems caused by global inequality. In this era, international effort is necessary to pave a peaceful path for humanity’s future.
The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee takes pleasure in announcing that the Sunhak Peace Prize for 2019 is to be awarded to Waris Dirie, for her major contribution to empowering rights of girls and women in Africa by leading the campaign to eradicate Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and to Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, for presenting the vision of Good Governance of Africa which leads Africa to feed itself by implementing innovative agricultural policies. Both laureates have made significant contributions to upholding the human rights of Africans and raising the quality of lives for the people of Africa.
Waris Dirie was the first person in history to publicize to the world, the violence of FGM and saved millions of lives by taking a leading role in promoting anti-FGM campaign. She raised the issue of FGM as an international human rights agenda and assisted in passing a worldwide resolution banning its practice.
Born into a goat-herding nomad family in Somalia, she underwent female circumcision at the age of 5. In 1997, when her career as a world-class supermodel was at its peak, she revealed her experience with FGM as a representative of all African girls and women who had undergone the procedure and couldn’t tell anyone their story. From this bold start, she made a commitment to stop the practice from being passed down to the next generation. Her outspokenness awoke people around the world to the reality, that FGM has nothing to do with religious or cultural tradition. In fact, it can lead to death, which violates human rights and humanity. Her declaration was a bold act toward the eradication of this violent practice.
After her brave declaration, Waris Dirie was appointed as the first Special Ambassador to the United Nations for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation. In 2002, she established the Desert Flower Foundation to raise the FGM issue as a topic of global discussion, instead of restricting it to the frame of a personal issue. The foundation implemented systematic methods and solutions to protect the human rights of victims and those who are at the risk of undergoing FGM.
As a result of her many efforts in international communities, the world started comprehending FGM as a form of violence. This led 15 African Union member countries to ratify the Maputo Protocol in 2003, which lists FGM as a harmful practice that must be ended. In 2012, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution banning the practice of FGM and the UN has set a goal to eliminate FGM by 2030. These decisions by the African Union and the United Nations are a tribute to the work of Waris Dirie.
As an agricultural economist, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has been a leading agricultural innovator for over 30 years, bringing tremendous improvement in food security, and his excellent leadership is building stepping-stones for Africa’s dynamic growth.
Dr. Adesina, who is originally from Nigeria, pioneered a major transformation in the agricultural field. His achievements include expanding rice production by introducing high yielding technologies, designing and implementing policies to support farmers’ access to technologies at scale, increasing the availability of credit for millions of smallholder farmers, attracting private investments for the agricultural sector, rooting out the corrupt elements in the fertilizer industry, and assisting in establishment of major agricultural policies for Africa’s green revolution, to increase the competitiveness of smallholder farmers in Africa.
In particular, the Africa Fertilizer Summit, which he organized in 2006, was one of the largest high-level meetings in history to focus on solving Africa’s food issues. Dr. Adesina succeeded in raising excitement and political will among the leaders at the summit and was instrumental in the adoption of the Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the African Green Revolution, in which all the leaders stated their commitment toward the “eradication of hunger in Africa by 2030.”
In addition, Dr. Adesina passionately cooperated with banks in other countries and international NGOs to create an innovative financing system which led banks to extend credit and loans to smallholder farmers, who had no other ways to get out of the cycle of poverty. This move leveraged $100 million of loans and gave smallholder farmers the opportunity to rise in the agricultural industry.
Dr. Adesina currently serves as the president of the African Development Bank, and he is spearheading the inclusive growth of Africa for Africa’s development. As an “economic commander” of Africa, he is leading Africa’s growth with the “High 5 Strategy,” which includes: light up and power Africa, feed Africa, industrialize Africa, integrate Africa and improve the quality of life for the people of Africa. The Bank estimate shows that 4.4 million people were able to connect to electricity, 8.5 million people received benefits in the agricultural field and 14 million people from the transportation field.
The Sunhak Peace Prize presents a Peace Agenda for the Future to guide the global community on a peaceful path. For the 2019 Sunhak Peace Prize, the Sunhak Committee has declared “Africa’s human rights and human development” as the Peace Agenda for the Future.
In order for us to build an era of peace and coexistence in the 21st century, we have to bring Africa’s development and human rights issues to the world’s consciousness and solve these issues together, as a global family. We can accelerate the transformation of Africa with the combined efforts and good will of humankind.
The laureates of the 2019 Sunhak Peace Prize represent an enduring definition of peace. They are the “great man and woman” of this era, who have dedicated their lives to improving Africa’s human rights and human development. By studying their actions, we can realize how one person’s braveness and leadership can steer the world’s communities one step closer to world peace. The Sunhak Committee wishes that the laureates’ sacrificial journey will bring a great opportunity for people around the world, to uplift the vision of love for humankind.
Cape Town, South Africa
November 22, 2018
Dr. Il Sik Hong, Chairman,
November 22, 2018
Dr. Il Sik Hong, Chairman,
Sunhak Peace Prize Committee
