International Day of Peace
21 September 2015
Message of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
This year’s International Day of Peace comes at a time of deadly violence and destabilizing conflicts around the world. Rather than succumbing to despair, we have a collective responsibility to demand an end to the brutality and impunity that prevail.
I call on all warring parties to lay down their weapons and observe a global ceasefire. To them I say: stop the killings and the destruction, and create space for lasting peace.
Although it may seem hopelessly distant, the dream of peace pulses in the lives of people everywhere.
There is no group more poised to help realize this dream than today’s young people. They are part of the largest generation of youth in history, more aware and connected than any before. I urge all Governments to make greater investments in realizing the potentially massive contributions of the world’s young peacebuilders.
At the same time, we need to mobilize all partners who share the goal of peace. Non-governmental organizations, faith-based groups and corporations all have a role to play in fostering social progress, protecting the environment and creating a more just, stable and peaceful world. The value of this collaboration is our theme for the Day: “Partnerships for Peace -- Dignity for All”.
We live at a moment of peril -- but this is also an era of great promise. In a matter of days, leaders from across the globe will gather at the United Nations to adopt the 2030 agenda, our 15-year plan to achieve sustainable development. This is fundamental to ushering in a life of dignity for all, where poverty is history and peace is paramount.
On the International Day, as we mark the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations, let us seize the opportunity to achieve the Organization’s founding purpose: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
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SECRETARY-GENERAL’S REMARKS AT PRESS CONFERENCE TO LAUNCH THE 2015 MDG GAP TASK FORCE REPORT
New York, 18 September 2015
New York, 18 September 2015
I am very pleased to be with UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, and DESA USG Wu Hongbo.
In 2007, I established an inter-agency Task Force to monitor progress in achieving Millennium Development Goal number 8, the Global Partnership for Development.
Since then, the Task Force has provided the international community with an annual review.
Today, I am pleased to launch the final such document – the 2015 MDG Gap Task Force Report, “Taking Stock of the Global Partnership for Development.”
This report [assesses] achievements and shortcomings across five areas: first, official development assistance; second, market access and trade; third, debt sustainability; fourth, access to essential medicines; and fifth, access to new technologies.
This year’s report has special significance as Member States move towards adoption and implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Despite gains towards a number of targets, major gaps remain in reducing vulnerabilities for developing countries, including least developed countries, land-locked developing countries and small-island developing States.
The MDG Gap Task Force has also shared insights on improving the global partnership for development in the years ahead – in particular through enhanced global monitoring and better coordination of the increasingly diverse and growing number of partnerships.
The transition from the MDGs to the SDGs presents an opportunity to unlock resources for investments in education, health, equitable growth and sustainable production and consumption.
The Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa has put in place a framework that will turn our aspirations into practical steps and strategies. We will also need to establish a strong mechanism to follow up on the commitments reached in Addis Ababa.
I urge partners across the world to embrace the ambition embodied in the new set of goals. I look forward to working together to deliver on the unfinished MDG commitments, tackle inequality and meet the new challenges that have emerged across the three dimensions of sustainable development -- economic, social and environmental.
The insights and analysis of the Task Force provide vital support in that effort, and I commend this report to a wide global audience.
Thank you very much.
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