The Renowned International Evangelist, Dr Lawrence Tetteh, has encouraged religious leaders to use their platforms to promote global peace amidthe heightened tension in geopolitics politics. Speaking at a youth conference in the Equatorial Guinea capital city of Malabo, he explained that what the political world leaders struggled to do could be supported by religious leaders. Consequently, preachers of the gospel must propagate peace in line with the Bible’s directive that Christians must endeavor to live in peace with all men. The seven-day event is being hosted by the leader of the Livingstone Ministries International, led by Apostle Dr Richard Milam Akubiro. Dr Tetteh expressed concern about the neglect of dialoguewhen resolving conflicts in modern times. Dialogue, Dr Tetteh explained, was the best means to buildup mutual understanding and trust between members of opposing groups. Dr Tetteh is also international relations expert and a global patron of the International Youth Network for the United Nations Security Council 2250. He bemoaned that too many lives were being destroyed in violent conflicts, while socio-economic activities were also disrupted. Christian leaders should, therefore, intensify their work as peace ambassadors and promote Christlike principles of justice, empathy and forgiveness in the resolution of conflicts. According to the 2023 Global Peace Index report, Conflict deaths are at the highest level this century, causing world peacefulness to decline The 17 th edition of the report from the international think-tank, the Institute for Economics and Peace, released June, notes that deaths from global conflict increased by 96% to 238,000. ‘ New data shows higher number of conflict deaths in Ethiopia than Ukraine, eclipsing the previous global peak during the Syrian war,’ it reveals. The report says 79 countries witnessed increased levels of conflict including Ethiopia, Myanmar, Ukraine, Israel, and South Africa. ‘The global economic impact of violence increased by 17% or $1 trillion, to $17.5 trillion in 2022, equivalent to 13% of global GDP,’ it notes. According to international media reports, more than 8,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israeli declared war on Gaza following Hamas’ attack on Isreal on October 7, which killed more than 1,400 people.
Source: Ghana News Agency