Nigeria’s Bukar-Hassan to take peace message to Gaza, Sudan
The newly appointed United Nations Global Advocate for Peace, Maryam Bukar-Hassan (Alhan_islam), has revealed plans to visit global conflict zones, including Gaza and Sudan, in the coming year. She disclosed this during an engagement at the UN House in Abuja, where she met with the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall. […]
This image grab taken from AFPTV video footage shows Palestinians checking the destruction in the aftermath of an Israeli strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, on November 1, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement (Photo by AFP)
The newly appointed United Nations Global Advocate for Peace, Maryam Bukar-Hassan (Alhan_islam), has revealed plans to visit global conflict zones, including Gaza and Sudan, in the coming year.
She disclosed this during an engagement at the UN House in Abuja, where she met with the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall.
Bukar-Hassan said these missions would be part of her broader mandate to humanise conflict victims and advocate for peace through dialogue rather than arms.
“We must acknowledge our past, honour our words and pave the way forward. Peace begins with us,” she said.
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Bukar-Hassan advocated for storytelling as a tool for healing and transformation, recounting a moment when a thoughtful comment on a divisive social media thread diffused tension and sparked empathy.
“Stories are the foundation of belief,” she said. “Before we believed in prophets or places, we heard stories. That is how faith and identity are built.”
To amplify this, she plans to launch a podcast titled What Makes You Human, featuring personal narratives that inspire reflection and unity.
She also shared the success of a pilot programme that brought together 556 young storytellers from across Nigeria for a cultural exchange and conflict resolution workshop.
Bukar-Hassan said participants co-created poems based on shared experiences and performed them publicly, breaking stereotypes and building empathy.
“When you hear someone’s story, you begin to see them as human,” she said. “That empathy is what breaks the cycle of conflict.”
Welcoming her to the UN House, Fall emphasised the urgency of peacebuilding efforts, noting that “peace is a prerequisite for human well-being,” and without it, development, democracy and human rights cannot flourish.
He expressed concern over the resurgence of violence as a means of resolving disputes, both in Nigeria and globally, calling it a reversal of the progress made since the founding of the UN 80 years ago.
Fall praised Bukar-Hassan’s appointment as “timely and important,” highlighting her potential to reach communities and youth in ways traditional diplomacy cannot.