UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the International Day of Peace called for efforts to achieve peace for all.
“Let us commit to build, drive and sustain peace for all,” the UN chief said on Thursday, noting that “people and our planet are in crisis” while this day is being observed, Xinhua news agency reported.
Guterres stressed that peace is “the result of action, the action to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure that no one is left behind”.
It is also the action “to end the war on our planet and its natural gifts”, to uphold and protect the human rights and dignity of every person, to use the timeless tools of diplomacy, dialogue and collaboration to defuse tensions and end conflict, and action for those millions of people living through the horrors of war, Guterres said.
“Peace is not only a noble vision for humanity. Peace is a call to action,” he stressed.
Each year the International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21. The UN General Assembly has declared this day as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, through observing 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
This year’s theme is Actions for Peace: Our Ambition for the #GlobalGoals. It is a call to action that recognizes our individual and collective responsibility to foster peace.
