GENERAL ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT EXPRESSES HOPE THAT CONFLICTING PARTIES

WILL OBSERVE CEASEFIRE ON DAY OF PEACE

Following is the message by Jan Kavan, President of the General Assembly, for the International Day of Peace, 21 September:

The fifty-fifth United Nations General Assembly decided, by its resolution 55/282, to designate 21 September as the International Day of Peace.  By the same resolution, the General Assembly declared the International Day of Peace as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence and invited all nations and people to commemorate it by honouring a 24-hour cessation of hostilities and through, inter alia, education and public awareness.  The decision takes effect during this session of the United Nations General Assembly.

For the past two decades the United Nations has been commemorating the International Day of Peace.  By adopting the above mentioned resolution, however, the General Assembly not only set a firm date for the observation of the International Day of Peace, but it also provided the forum in which the International Day of Peace could have a global reach and a practical impact.  In this way, I believe, the decision adopted by the fifty-fifth General Assembly has strengthened the significance of the Day, a significance which should even grow in coming years.

Today and tomorrow, people around the world will commemorate the International Day of Peace by holding peace vigils.  I share with these people a hope that parties in conflict will commemorate the International Day of Peace by observing a ceasefire.  This year, we inaugurate the global day of peace, ceasefire, and nonviolence.  I hope to see a commitment to it rising, as it becomes an enduring tradition.

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