UN Secretary General Calls for International Ceasefire on September 21

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – The International Day of Peace is observed around the world on September 21. This year’s theme is "Partnerships for Peace — Dignity for All."

"On this day, in the lead-up to the Day of Peace, I am asking all partners to lend their voices to this call for a laying down of arms, and to work non-stop in the days to come to bring about a 24-hour cease fire on September 21st," the Secretary General said in a statement published by the United Nations on Thursday.

The International Day of Peace was established by the UN General Assembly in 1981.

"The General Assembly has declared this as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples," Ban Ki-moon said adding "Let’s make this International Day of Peace a day without violence, and a day of forgiveness. If, for one day, we can live in a world without aggression and hostility, we can imagine how much more is possible."

Every year on September 21, the United Nations holds a variety of activities, beginning with the traditional ceremony at the Peace Bell, which was cast from coins collected by children from 60 countries and presented to the UN in June 1954 by the United Nations Association of Japan.

In 2014, the International Day of Peace was held under the motto "The right of peoples to peace."