UNIS/SGSM/1346
19 September 2023
As we mark this International Day of Peace, people and our planet are in crisis.
Conflicts driving record numbers of people from their homes.
Deadly fires, raging floods and soaring temperatures.
Poverty, inequalities and injustices.
Mistrust, division and prejudice.
This year’s theme reminds us that peace is not automatic.
Peace is the result of action.
Action to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure that no one is left behind.
Action to end the war on our planet and its natural gifts.
Action to uphold and protect the human rights and dignity of every person — especially as we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Action 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.
Peace is not only a noble vision for humanity.
Peace is a call to action.
Let us commit to build, drive and sustain peace for all.
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"The transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans was a crime against humanity that resonates through history and continues to scar societies." — António Guterres
"United Nations personnel serve some of the world's most vulnerable people while aspiring to our highest ideals: peace, dignity, equality and justice." — António Guterres
The retreat of glaciers in the Upper Danube River Basin is one of the most alarming consequences of climate change, says the International Commission for the Protection of the Danube River (ICPDR) as it joins the global community in commemorating World Water Day 2025.
"The theme of this year's World Meteorological Day – Closing the Early Warning Gap Together – reminds us that, in this new climate reality, early warning systems are not luxuries." — António Guterres
