The International Day of Peace was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 for “commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace within and among all nations and people”.
Twenty years later, the General Assembly set 21 September as the date to observe the occasion annually as a “day of global ceasefire and non-violence… through education and public awareness and to cooperate in the establishment of a global ceasefire”.
This year, as we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the 60th anniversary of UN peacekeeping, the Day offers an opportunity to spotlight the crucial relationship between peace and human rights, which are increasingly recognized as inseparable. 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. 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. Read More..
PEACE BELL CEREMONY - This year to mark the International Day of Peace, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will ring the Peace Bell at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Friday, 19 September, in the company of the UN Messengers of Peace. UN offices and peacekeeping missions around the world will also be holding events to observe the occasion. A minute of silence will be observed at 12 noon local time on 21 September, around the world.
Brother Mandus once gave a prayer “Beyond a Minute for Peace” in the United Nations Chapel in New York. He believed then; as I do now in a universal brotherhood and that God loves us all. I would now like to offer this prayer again as a healing for all mankind.
Be still and know one truth, that the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Love. That in the Kingdom of Love we commune with and release love, unto every person on earth. In this love is founded the brotherhood of man, and the eternal purpose of God.
Brother Mandus
9th January 1907 – 8th March 1988
“Beyond a Minute for Peace”
A Prayer by Brother Mandus
“Beyond a minute for Peace, is a minute in which we become one with the Father of all mankind. In that state of eternity all things flow under Divine government. The vision of a minute for peace is not a static minute, but is that state of mind through which the wondrous, creative, infinite powers of the Universe spill forth in the highest productivity. It is a moment when one by one across the world we can really come back to God, and discover this channel of communication, this oneness through which God’s love is released into the entire world community.
Therefore, it is much more than just being still, just being quiet even more for the sake of peace. It is being still in the midst of God, out of which the peace, the harmony, the creative surge, the infinite majesty, the perfect everything flow into our experience.
“In this sacred moment, this minute for peace, be still and know one truth, that the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Love. That in the Kingdom of Love we commune with and release love, unto every person on earth. In this love is founded the brotherhood of man, and the eternal purpose of God.
Thank You, Father for the privilege and miracle of being alive and for the joy of having brotherhood with all people of every race, every colour, every creed and every religion. This is established in Thee, and everyone everywhere, and Thank You Father, that it is so.”
