The International Day of Peace,
sometimes officially known as World Peace Day, is a United Nations-sanctioned
holiday observed annually on 21 September. It is dedicated to world peace, and
specifically the absence of war and violence, such as might be occasioned by a
temporary ceasefire in a combat zone for humanitarian aid access. The day was first
celebrated in 1981, and is kept by many nations, political groups, military
groups, and people. In 2013 the day was dedicated by the Secretary-General of
the United Nations to peace education, the key preventive means to reduce war
sustainably.
To inaugurate the day, the United
Nations Peace Bell is rung at UN Headquarters (in New York City). The bell is
cast from coins donated by children from all continents except Africa, and was
a gift from the United Nations Association of Japan, as "a reminder of the
human cost of war"; the inscription on its side reads, "Long live
absolute world peace".
In recent years, a searchable map
of events has been published at un.org.
The United Nations General Assembly declared, in a resolution sponsored by the United Kingdom and Costa Rica, the International Day of Peace, to be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace. The date initially chosen was the regular opening day of the annual sessions of the General Assembly, the third Tuesday of September.