UNIS/SGSM/1622
21 September 2026
As we mark the International Day of Peace, we face a world where this vital asset is in dangerously short supply.
Communities are shaken by violence and division.
Conflicts are growing in scale and complexity, spilling across borders and inflicting enormous suffering.
Dialogue is faltering, solutions are elusive and global solidarity is missing in action.
But around the world, people are showing that we are not powerless.
Volunteers, advocates, civil society leaders, peacekeepers and peacemakers are bridging divides, uniting communities and pushing for dialogue.
Action by action, they are building peace from the ground up.
Like this year’s theme — “Investing in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day” — these champions of peace are showing us that achieving peace is not passive or automatic.
It’s an active and deliberate choice to invest in a better future.
By building inclusive communities where peace can take hold.
By investing in sustainable development — in people’s health, education, nutrition and social protection.
By bridging divides and ensuring everyone’s voice is heard.
By safeguarding the human rights and dignity that belong to every person.
And by strengthening the proven tools of peace — diplomacy, dialogue, negotiation and peacekeeping.
On this International Day of Peace, let us all be inspired by the courage of those who champion peace in neighbourhoods, classrooms and communities.
And let’s call on world leaders to invest in a peaceful future for all people.
* *** *
The thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) will be held from 19 to 23 October 2026 at the Vienna International Centre, Austria.
The Fifteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice concluded today with more than 60 countries agreeing time-bound actions to strengthen criminal justice responses, expand access to justice and improve international cooperation to tackle global crime threats.
The Fifteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice opened today with the adoption of the Abu Dhabi Declaration, a forward-looking global framework to strengthen international criminal justice cooperation against fast-evolving crime challenges and exploitation of digital technologies.
"It's time to choose dialogue over division, diplomacy over confrontation, and disarmament over destruction. States that possess nuclear weapons must honour their disarmament obligations and commit to the total elimination of nuclear weapons." — António Guterres
