United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon – Peace Day 2013 Statement
With the Peace Day Resolution UN/A/RES/55/282 of September 7 2001, the UN General Assembly decided that International Day of Peace shall be observed on September 21 each year. The GA also declared that September 21 “shall be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honor a cessation of hostilities for the duration of the day.” The Resolution invites all UN Member States (including the United States), organizations of the United Nations system, regional and non-governmental organizations and individual citizens to “…commemorate, in an appropriate manner, the International Day of Peace, including through education and public awareness, and to cooperate with the United Nations in the establishment of the global ceasefire.”
Jeremy Gilley and the U.K. based non-profit Peace One Day played a key role in that resolution, having successfully made a case for the life saving and enhancing benefits of a Peace Day, defined as a day of “ceasefire and non-violence,” with a fixed calendar date.
WHAT IF WAR TOOK A DAY OFF?
PERSONAL AND COMMUNITY TRUCE
Peace Day provides an opportunity to cease conflict on all levels of society – on a personal, family and community level, as well as on a city, national and global level.
Peace Day is an opportunity for communities to express their desire for peace and safety by calling for 24-hours of ceasefire and non-violence as defined in the 2001 UN resolution. Consider a walk, march or display of signs in your neighborhood that express your call for ceasefire, non-violence and peace on your streets. Let your neighborhood recreation and community centers, as well as your civic leaders and local non-profit organizations, know about Peace Day, September 21 and encourage their involvement! Working together we can create a day in which violence is reduced and unity raised.
Of course, one day of ceasefire/truce is only the beginning. The goal is to create sustainable peace on all levels – personal, local and global. By creating 24-hours of significantly reduced violence, we show our communities and leaders what is possible with unified effort, and can build upon that.