In 2001 the United Nations General Assembly declared that September 21 should be set aside each year “for the celebration and observance of peace.” (A/RES/55/282) The founding Charter of the United Nations calls on people “to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security.” The UN resolution also declared that the International Day of Peace is to be “observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence.”

Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, in his message for this year's Day of Peace, deplored the “tribulations of the past year” and stated his conviction that :

“we need to promote greater tolerance and understanding among the peoples of the world. Nothing can be more dangerous to our efforts to build peace and development than a world divided along religious, ethnic or cultural lines. In each nation, and among all nations, we must work to promote unity based on our shared humanity.” ( SG/SM 9480)

Last spring about 36,000+ persons participated in the Pause for Peace initiative, taking a moment each day to reflect and to renew their commitment to peacemaking in the spirit of hope. As we said in the letter to the Secretary General and the Security Council in June 2004, every person on earth experiences a deep longing for peace and a life with dignity. On this International Day of Peace perhaps we can commit or re-commit to this “rolling peace prayer” in this time when so many of the world's most vulnerable live in the midst of violence and war.

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

http://www.un.org/events/peaceday
http://www.un.org/Depts/dhl/peace/

http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/
http://www.overcomingviolence.org/peace2004
http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org
http://www.idpvigil.com