Video Message for the Secretary-General: International Day of Peace

This year’s International Day of Peace comes at a crisis point for humanity.  

COVID-19 has turned our world upside-down.

As a human family, we face a stark choice —

Peace or perpetual peril.

We must choose peace.

That is why I call for a 24-hour ceasefire today.

And by working in solidarity for a lasting, sustainable peace every day, we can tackle the issues facing us.

We need peace to urgently deliver lifesaving vaccines and treatment for COVID-19.

We need peace to recover from the pandemic and re-build shattered systems and shattered lives.

We need peace to level the playing field and reduce inequalities.

We need peace to renew trust in one another — and faith in facts and science.

And we need to make peace with nature — to heal our planet, build a green economy, and achieve our net-zero targets.