FROM BELL RINGING IN NEW YORK TO BATTLE SCARRED AFGHANISTAN, UN MARKS PEACE DAY

FROM BELL RINGING IN NEW YORK TO BATTLE SCARRED AFGHANISTAN, UN MARKS PEACE DAY
New York, Sep 21 2007 10:00AM
From the ritual ringing of a bell at its stately Headquarters in New York to the furthest flung trenches of warfare across the world, where a record number of more than 100,000 peacekeepers are struggling to restore stability, the United Nations system today marked the annual International Day of Peace with fervent appeals for an end to violence.

"Peace is the United Nations' highest calling," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared on the lawn in front of the towering UN Headquarters as he stood facing the Peace Bell, a gift from Japan cast from the pennies donated by children from 60 nations, before driving the ringing beam into it three times.

"It defines our mission. It drives our discourse. And it draws together all of our world wide work, from peacekeeping and preventive diplomacy to promoting human rights and development," he added.

The International Day of Peace was first established by the UN General Assembly in 1981 as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence. The General Assembly called for people around the world to use the Day as an opportunity to promote the resolution of conflict and to observe a cessation of hostilities during it. UN staff throughout the world are observing a minute of silence in the name of peace.

Three UN Messengers of Peace stood at Mr. Ban's side at the ceremony – Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas, wildlife researcher and conservationist Jane Goodall and holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel.

A half a world away in Afghanistan, which has seen an upsurge in violence, thousands of people rallied behind the country's biggest-ever peace effort, even as fighting continued in the south. From Kandahar to Kunduz, from Herat to Jalalabad, peace events were taking place, and on a scale never seen before in the country, the UN Assistance Mission in Afganistan (<"http://www.unama-afg.org/Index.htm">UNAMA) said.
2007-09-21 00:00:00.000

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