..Press Release................................ UNESCAP News Services

Date 20 September 2006
Press Release No. L/56/06

Peace and security remain at core of UN work on International Day of Peace

New York, 19 September 2006 -- The twenty-fifth observance of the International Day of Peace on Thursday 21 September comes at a moment when the United Nations is engaged on several fronts to bring peace and stability to regions in conflict.

It is also the last Day of Peace at which UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will ring the Peace Bell at UN headquarters. At the 9:30 a.m. ceremony, he will also observe a minute of silence “in the name of peace” and will call on all UN staff to do the same.

“… Far too many people in the world today … live in chains: a climate of insecurity and fear. It is mainly for them that this day exists,” he says in a taped message for the Day.

UN works for peace

In its promotion of the International Day of Peace, the UN is noting the many ways that the UN system works for peace — from conflict prevention and peacekeeping to development, poverty eradication and enhancing democracies, the rule of law and a continuing dialogue among religious faiths.

The UN Security Council adopted three resolutions in August 2006 alone which could expand UN peacekeeping levels by 50 percent (with expanded or new missions in Lebanon, Sudan and Timor-Leste).

The newly created Peacebuilding Commission has met to determine ways to continue coordinated international support for Sierra Leone and Burundi where peacekeeping operations have wound down after returning stability to war-torn countries. A new UN Human Rights Council was established to tackle abuses that can threaten peace. Acting on the Secretary-General’s recommendations, the UN General Assembly on 8 September adopted a global counter-terrorism strategy.

The challenges to UN peace efforts are many, but as the Secretary-General notes, “States are paying more attention to preventive diplomacy. UN peacekeeping missions – and our efforts to support democracy and promote human rights – are making a difference.”

Annual observance at UN headquarters

The annual observance of an International Day of Peace was established by the General Assembly in 1981. The Assembly fixed the date in resolution A/res/55/282 of 2002 and called for the Day to be observed as one of non-violence and ceasefire. People around the world choose a variety of ways to commemorate the day.

“Let us remember the victims of war. And let each of us pledge to do more, wherever we can make a difference, to bring about lasting peace,” the Secretary-General urges.

At the Peace Bell ceremony, the Secretary-General will be accompanied by UN Messengers of Peace Vijay Armitraj, Anna Cataldi, Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall and Elie Wiesel.

Also at UN Headquarters, immediately following the ceremony, more than 700 students will gather with UN Messengers of Peace to discuss, through satellite, issues of peace with counterparts in UN mission areas in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kosovo and Liberia.

Activities around the globe

UN offices as well as governments, schools, non-governmental organizations and communities of faith worldwide are also planning activities to mark the Day.

For example, the UN Office of the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO) will hold a special ceremony where messages of peace will be delivered by various religious leaders from the region. In Kosovo, the UN, KFOR and World Vision have assisted school children in contributing paintings for a Kosovo-wide exhibition called “Wall of Peace.” The UN in Romania is teaming up with a local organization to host that country’s first national sports festival for peace. Marches; concerts; sports; arts and writing competitions; vigils and conferences are being held in countries around the world.

Of the UN agencies, UNESCO will hold a ceremony on 21 September at its Paris Headquarters and will award the annual UNESCO Prize for Peace Education to Sri Lankan Judge Christopher Gregory Weeramantry. In his message for the Day, Director-General Koїchiro Matsuura emphasizes that a culture of peace “requires a commitment to dialogue and to mutual knowledge and understanding between civilizations, cultures and peoples. To achieve a culture of peace, the principles of diversity and dialogue must be deeply embedded within each… of us”.

More on UN HQ

A number of UN agencies will join governments and civil and religious organizations at UN Headquarters on 21 September for a High-level Conference on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace organized by the Tripartite Forum for Interfaith Cooperation, comprised of governments, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations.

For additional information, please visit the International Day of Peace website: www.un.org/events/peaceday/2006; or contact Susan Manuel, telephone: 212-963-1262 or email: manuels@un.org, or Sharon McPherson, telephone: 212-963-1742 or email: mcpherson1@un.org

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