Message by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the International Day of Peace
21 September 2021
联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯国际和平日致辞
2021年9月21日
This year’s International Day of Peace comes at a crisis point for humanity.
今年的国际和平日正值人类面临危机时刻。
COVID-19 has turned our world upside-down. Conflicts are spinning out of control. The climate emergency is worsening. Inequality and poverty are deepening. And mistrust and division are driving people apart at a time when solidarity and collaboration are needed more than ever.
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.
Peace is not a naïve dream. It’s a light in the darkness guiding us to the only pathway to a better future for humanity. Let’s walk the pathway of peace as if our lives depended on it. Because they do.
