Every year on September 21, the world comes together to observe the International Day of Peace. The day is marked across the world to promote the concept of peace, and calls upon nations to observe 24 hours of non-violence and ceasefire even during times of conflict. The day is one of the most important international days established by the United Nations (UN) to help the world achieve international peace and cooperation.
History
The United Nations was formed on October 24, 1945, just seven weeks after the Japanese surrendered in WWII. Being formed at the tail end of the global war, that saw countless atrocities and crimes, the focus of the international organisation was to foster global peace and cooperation. While the United Nations was not the first such organisation to be formed — the disastrously unsuccessful League of Nations was created after WWI — it did have a much greater acceptance from its member states.
This could be seen when in 1981, all the member-states of the UN unanimously accepted the resolution to declare September 21 as the ‘International Day of Peace.’ The day calls for temporary ceasefires in combat zones for humanitarian aid access.
Significance
With wars and conflict causing upwards of 108 million casualties in just the 20th century, there is a greater need of establishing world peace than ever before. With the advent of modern devastating weapons and nuclear armament, the world can scarcely risk a scale war.
The ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia is a testament to this fact. Millions of Ukrainians have been displaced and thousands killed, with many more thousands of soldiers dead and injured on both sides. Other raging conflicts like the ones in Yemen and Ethiopia also have similar stories to tell.
Theme
With peace being possible only in societies where every group feels that they are equally respected and with equal opportunities for success, the theme for International Day of Peace 2022 has been set as ‘End racism. Build peace.’
