RAWALPINDI, Sept 20: International Day of Peace will be observed on Sunday to strengthen the ideals of peace within and among all nations and people.

The International Day of Peace was first declared by the United Nations 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 of Peace as an opportunity to promote peaceful resolution of conflict and to observe a cessation of hostilities during the day.

The year 2008 celebrates the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as UN peacekeeping and the International Peace Day.

To promote more awareness of this important Day, the United Nations is encouraging people around the world to send text messages for peace on the day. UN offices in several countries are organising campaigns. Messages collected by the UN will be presented to world leaders gathering in New York for the 63rd General Assembly from 23 September.

In his message for the Day, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “peace is the United Nations’ highest calling.

It defines our mission. It drives our discourse. And it draws together all of our worldwide work, from peacekeeping and preventive diplomacy to promoting human rights and development.”

Over the past year, the UN has been involved in seeking resolutions to several of the world’s intractable conflicts. For example, the United Nations will host four high-level meetings, beginning on 21 September, bringing world leaders together to discuss ways the international community can assist the peace process in Darfur, the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan.

On 24 September, the secretary-general will convene a major meeting on climate change, an issue he has also linked to the pursuit of peace.

UN says this year 27 million children in conflict-affected areas are not in school. More than 25 million people are displaced from their homes. Tens of thousands of women are brutalized by sexual violence, one of the most horrendous aspects of conflict today.

Too many conflicts, from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to conflicts in the occupied Palestinian territory and Darfur, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, cause unnecessary loss of life and have a devastating impact on the structures that maintain societies, such as education, health and justice systems and the maintenance of law and order.

In the aftermath of World War II, world leaders acknowledged that “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts” and have prevented the “advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy…freedom from fear and want”. Today, we are still struggling to achieve this vision.