On September 21, the world will celebrate once again the International Day of Peace. Maintaining international peace and security is one of the purposes for which the United Nations was created. Although the International Day of Peace has been observed by the UN since 1982, it was in 2001 that the United Nations General Assembly decided that September 21 should be set aside each year and “be brought to the attention of all people for the celebration and observance of peace.” (A/RES/55/282)  The International Day of Peace is to be “observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence.”  According to Anne Montgomery rscj, this day must introduce a prolonged campaign of active nonviolent resistance to militarism and the policies behind it. “Only so can we create a life-nourishing and enduring culture of peace,” says Anne.

See the following websites for more information about the International Day of Peace:

www.un.org/events/peaceday - UN website of the International Day of Peace, with the message of the UN Secretary General (probably available in early September) and many useful links.

www.un.org/Depts/dhl/peace - Dag Hammarskjöld Library at the UN, with many good links.

www.un.org/cyberschoolbus - the UN website for students on global teaching and learning projects.

http://overcomingviolence.org/ - web site of the World Council of Churches on the International Day of Prayer for Peace 2007

www.internationaldayofpeace.org – click on “Get involved in Peace Day 2007” and get ideas of how you can help create a global ceasefire; don’t forget to click on your region in the world to find out what is happening in your country/city.

www.idpvigil.com – multilingual website of the International Day of Peace Vigil.

For more information about the UN’s International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010), see www3.unesco.org/