On 15 October 2026, the Kofi Annan Foundation, Geneva Graduate Institute, and Geneva Peacebuilding Platform hosted the sixth Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address in Geneva, bringing together leaders, peacebuilders, and young changemakers to reflect on what it means to choose peace in a world marked by conflict and injustice.
Held as the closing event of the Geneva Peace Forum, under this year’s theme, Choose Peace, the evening featured an address by renowned gynecologist, human rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and member of the Elders, Dr Denis Mukwege, and the presentation of the inaugural Kofi Annan Geneva Youth Peace Prize to Rohingya peacebuilder and human rights advocate Maung Sawyeddollah.
Together, their contributions underscored a shared message: lasting peace requires more than the absence of violence. It demands justice, accountability and the courage to uphold our shared humanity.
Dr Denis Mukwege: Peace requires justice
Delivering the 2026 Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address, Dr Denis Mukwege reflected on the relationship between peace, human rights and development — a conviction at the heart of Kofi Annan’s legacy.
Drawing on his work supporting survivors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Dr Mukwege warned that treating the consequences of violence without addressing its underlying causes cannot bring lasting peace.
Highlighting more than three decades of violence in eastern DRC, Dr Mukwege argued that diplomatic efforts must move beyond managing the crisis towards achieving a just and lasting peace. He called for an international conference on peace in the DRC and stability in the Great Lakes region, bringing together regional states, the United Nations, the African Union, international partners, and mediators to coordinate existing initiatives and turn commitments into action. He stressed that women, young people, victims, affected communities and civil society must have a meaningful role in shaping the process.
Dr Mukwege also highlighted the economic interests that sustain the conflict. The DRC’s mineral wealth — including cobalt, copper, coltan, gold and other resources essential to global technology and the energy transition — has too often fuelled exploitation, armed groups and geopolitical competition rather than prosperity for local communities.
He warned that “a green or digital transition cannot be sustainable if it is fuelled by the blood of the people in the territories where these resources are extracted.” He called for greater transparency and traceability in mineral supply chains, alongside stronger accountability for companies and other actors that contribute to the war economy.
“True peace cannot be limited to silencing the guns. It must tackle the root causes of the conflict.”
Underpinning these proposals was a clear message about justice and international responsibility. “Choosing peace, therefore, also means choosing justice,” he said, warning that impunity prepares the ground for future conflicts and abuses. He also challenged the selective application of international law: “We cannot condemn a violation of international law here and accept it elsewhere.”
“A peace is never definitively secured,” Dr Mukwege reminded the audience. “It is built every day, through our individual and collective choices, through our institutions, through our courage and through our solidarity.”
His message was clear: choosing peace means choosing justice over impunity, dialogue over violence and the rule of law over the law of the strongest.
Maung Sawyeddollah: Choosing peace without surrendering justice
The evening also marked the presentation of the inaugural Kofi Annan Geneva Youth Peace Prize to Maung Sawyeddollah, founder and Executive Director of the Rohingya Student Network.
A Rohingya refugee and stateless person, Sawyeddollah was forced to flee Myanmar with his family at the age of 15. Having experienced the consequences of persecution and displacement, he established the Rohingya Student Network while living in a refugee camp in Bangladesh to help young Rohingya access education, develop their leadership and shape their own futures.
Unable to travel to Geneva, Sawyeddollah joined the ceremony live and through a pre-recorded acceptance speech. He dedicated the recognition to Rohingya young people, refugees and others living through conflict whose voices too often go unheard in decisions affecting their lives.
“Peace is not the absence of anger. Peace is what we decide to do with it,” he said.
For Sawyeddollah, choosing peace does not mean remaining silent about injustice or asking victims to forget. It means pursuing accountability without revenge and building a future in which people can live together without denying the truth of what has happened.
“I can seek accountability without seeking revenge,” he said. “That is the peace I believe in.”
Sawyeddollah also challenged institutions and funders to move beyond consultation towards meaningful participation, ensuring that communities affected by conflict have the resources and power to shape solutions.
“Do not build peace for communities while leaving them outside the room where peace is designed. Build it with them.”
The inaugural prize recognises Sawyeddollah’s commitment to peacebuilding and the leadership of young people affected by conflict. It reflects the Kofi Annan Foundation’s belief that young people must be recognised not only as those who experience the consequences of conflict, but as leaders in building a more peaceful future.
Watch Maung Sawyeddollah’s acceptance speech:
An intergenerational dialogue on justice and lasting peace
The evening continued with an intergenerational dialogue between Dr Mukwege and Sawyeddollah, moderated by Declan O’Brien, Head of Democracy and Multilateralism at the Kofi Annan Foundation.
Bringing together two voices shaped by different experiences of violence and injustice, the conversation explored what it means to choose peace when communities still live with the consequences of grave harm—and whether peace can endure without justice.
The conversation reinforced the importance of connecting the experience and leadership of those affected by conflict with the institutions and decision-makers responsible for shaping responses to it.
The programme also featured a musical performance by Les Fleurs Tardives, presenting traditional Rajasthani music.
Choose Peace
The 2026 Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address and Youth Peace Prize brought together established and emerging voices to consider what choosing peace demands of us today.
Their messages echoed a central principle of Kofi Annan’s legacy: peace, human rights and development are inseparable. Building a more peaceful world requires the courage to challenge injustice, uphold international law, listen to those most affected by conflict and turn commitments into action.
As Dr Mukwege concluded, “Choosing peace, therefore, is not simply a matter of expressing a hope. It is about accepting a responsibility: rejecting indifference and acting together so that peace ceases to be a promise and finally becomes a reality.”
COMING SOON: Watch the recording of the 2026 Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address and Youth Peace Prize
The Kofi Annan Geneva Peace Address is organised by the Kofi Annan Foundation, the Graduate Institute, and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, with support from the Republic and State of Geneva and the City of Geneva.
