UNIS/SGSM/1434
17 September 2024
Everywhere we look, peace is under attack.
From Gaza, to Sudan, to Ukraine and beyond we see:
Civilians in the firing line;
Homes blown apart;
Traumatised, terrified populations who have lost everything – and sometimes everyone.
This catalogue of human misery must stop.
Our world needs peace.
Peace is the ultimate prize for all humanity.
And as this International Day of Peace reminds us – the solutions are in our hands.
Cultivating a culture of peace means replacing division, disempowerment, and despair with justice, equality and hope for all.
It means focusing on preventing conflict;
Propelling the Sustainable Development Goals;
Promoting human rights.
And tackling all forms of discrimination and hate.
This month’s Summit of the Future is a vital opportunity to advance these aims.
Let’s seize it.
Together, let’s lay the groundwork for peace.
And let’s nurture a culture where equality, peace and justice thrive.
Thank you.
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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
