INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE OBSERVANCE COMMENCES AT UN HEADQUARTERS ON 19 SEPTEMBER

Note to Correspondents

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE OBSERVANCE COMMENCES

AT UN HEADQUARTERS ON 19 SEPTEMBER

On Sunday, 21 September, the International Day of Peace will be observed worldwide.  The United Nations will commence its observance on Friday, 19 September at 10 a.m. when Secretary-General Kofi Annan, in keeping with the annual tradition, rings the Japanese Peace Bell in the West Court Garden on the front lawn of the Secretariat Building at New York Headquarters.

Accompanying the Secretary-General will be five of the nine prominent personalities who have been appointed United Nations Messengers of Peace –- Muhammad Ali, Anna Cataldi, Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall and Elie Wiesel.  The event will feature statements from the Secretary-General, from the President of the General Assembly, Julian Hunte, and from the President of the Security Council, Emyr Jones Parry.

For the first time this year, students will participate in a pageantry of flags representing the 191 United Nations Member States.  The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Syrian Golan Heights and United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) will also join in the Headquarters observance via satellite.

Immediately following the Peace Bell ceremony, the annual student observance will be held in Conference Room 4 of the Secretariat Building at Headquarters.  For about 45 minutes, the Messengers of Peace are expected to share experiences with young men and women visiting from Kuwait and Rwanda, and by videoconference from Afghanistan and Sierra Leone.  Students from New York City who have been invited to attend the observance will also dialogue by videoconference with youth based in UNAMA, UNDOF and UNAMSIL.

The programme will be moderated by Gillian Sorensen, Assistant Secretary-General for External Relations in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and Ramu Damodaran, Chief of the Civil Society Service, Department of Public Information.  Among others expected to make remarks are Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Shashi Tharoor and Mrs. Nane Annan.

On their departure from Conference Room 4, the Messengers of Peace will allow time for a brief encounter with media at a stakeout in the immediate vicinity.

A live webcast of the day’s events can be accessed at www.un.org/events/peaceday.  The events have been organized by the Executive Office of the Secretary-General and the United Nations Department of Public Information in collaboration with non-governmental organizations Pathways to Peace and the World Peace Prayer Society.

The International Day of Peace was first established by the General Assembly in 1981.  Until 2001, its observance coincided with the opening day of the General Assembly session, usually on the third Tuesday of September.  However, in 2001, during its fifty-fifth session, the General Assembly, in resolution 55/282, called for it to be observed on 21 September each year as a day of non-violence and ceasefire and invited everyone to commemorate it in an appropriate manner.

In March of this year, a United Nations steering group was formed under the Chairmanship of Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Kieran Prendergast and Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information Shashi Tharoor to underscore the Organization’s commitment to maintaining global peace and security as expressed in the resolution.  United Nations field offices have organized diverse observances, mainly aimed at raising awareness of constituents in their areas.  Those include educational, cultural and sports initiatives.  Governments, civil society and individuals have also been responding to the call of the General Assembly by marking the Day in various ways.  For further information, please refer to the International Day of Peace Web site at www.un.org/events/peaceday.

For further information on:

-- International Day of Peace, contact Susan Manuel, tel.: 1 (212) 963-1262, e-mail: manuels@un.org, or Sharon McPherson, tel.: 1 (917) 367-2068, e-mail: mcpherson1@un.org;

-- Peace Bell ceremony, contact Paulose Peter, tel.: 1 (212) 963-7179, e-mail: peter@un.org;

-- Student observance, contact Carolyn Schuler Uluc, tel.: 1 (212) 963-1072, e-mail: schuler-uluc@un.org; or Dawn Johnston-Britton, tel.: 1 (212) 963-6984, e-mail: johnston-britton@un.org;

-- Messengers of Peace, contact Yvonne Acosta, tel.: 1 (212) 963-7214, e-mail: acostay@un.org;

-- United Nations television coverage, please call 1 (212) 963-7650, fax: 1 (212) 963-3860; or

-- Media accreditation, please call 1 (212) 963-6934, fax: 1 (212) 963-4642.

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