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The Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, has hailed the contribution of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) to peace in the West African sub-region and the world at large. He said West Africa was committed to resolving its own problems without resorting to warfare, and, therefore, the work of the KAIPTC in teaching and research would continue to impact positively on society. Mr Amissah-Arthur gave the commendation in Accra yesterday when he addressed the graduation ceremony for 67 students from Africa and elsewhere after they had completed their Master of Arts courses in Conflict, Peace and Security (MCPS) and Gender, Peace and Security (MGPS) at the KAIPTC. Forty-three people graduated in MCPS, while 24 came out with MGPS, including Nigerians, Ethiopians, Beninois and Japanese. Peace/conflict Mr Amissah-Arthur noted that 2015 would be a challenging year for democracy in West Africa, as national elections were scheduled to be held in five ECOWAS countries, namely Nigeria, Togo, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Cote d�Ivoire. �We know that electoral disputes have been a major source of instability, as there are people who seek to profit from any misunderstanding,� he stated, and underscored the need to guard against the exploitation of differences in disputes. �We cannot return to the ethnic conflicts of the 1990s. Therefore, we rely on the technical expertise of this centre to develop strategies for defeating such attempts,� the Vice-President added. Commendation He congratulated the High Command of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), the governing board of the KAIPTC and its foreign partners on their support to global peace. He also congratulated the graduates and urged them to apply the knowledge they had acquired to improve society and the sub-region. Earlier in his remarks, the Commandant of the KAIPTC, Major General O.B. Akwa, had said the centre would begin a certificate course in gender, peace and security this year, to be followed up with a doctoral programme in international conflict management. He added that the centre would continue to work with ECOWAS and the African Union to maintain peace on the continent. Recognition The overall best student award in the MCPS category went to Mr Kanako Ishiyama from Japan, while a Nigerian, Ms Ugonna Ukaigwe, was adjudged the best in the MGPS category. A retired General of the GAF, Major General Henry Kwami Anyidoho, was honoured for his dedication and special contribution to the successful running of academic programmes at the centre, while Dr Charles Amlaner, an American, was honoured for supporting the mentoring of academic staff of the KAIPTC at the Kennesaw State University in the United States of America (USA).