21 September 2009 is the ninth International Day of Peace. The United Nations General Assembly decided (in resolution 55/282) on 7 September 2001 that, beginning in 2002, the International Day of Peace should be observed on 21 September each year. The Assembly declared that the Day be observed as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence, an invitation to all nations and people to honour a cessation of hostilities during the International Day of Peace. It invited all UN member states, organisations of the United Nations system, regional and non-governmental organisations and individuals to commemorate the Day in an appropriate manner, including through education and public awareness, and to cooperate with the United Nations in establishing a global ceasefire.

This year the Secretary-General is calling on governments and citizens to focus on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. On 13 June 2009, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a multiplatform campaign under the slogan WMD - We Must Disarm to mark the 100-day countdown leading up to the International Day of Peace on 21 September. During the 100 days of the campaign, the United Nations is raising awareness of the dangers and costs of nuclear weapons by issuing a reason a day on why nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are so crucial, via Twitter and the social networking sites Facebook and MySpace.

(Sources: UN Department of Public Information)

Tolerance: the threshold of peace. A teaching/learning guide for peace, human rights and democracy (UNESCO)
This is a resource document with exemplary programmes, lesson plans and teaching units that can be used by classroom teachers, teacher educators, community leaders, parents, youth and social workers.

Useful links

International Day of Peace

United Nations International Day of Peace 2009 site

International Day of Peace Vigil

United Network of Young Peacebuilders

Pathways to Peace

International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence (2001-2010)

Courses and trainings on peace, peace building, peace education

Introduction to Human Rights Education

The graph presents the number of villages in Darfur, Sudan confirmed as either destroyed or damaged for each calendar period. The confirmed number of destroyed villages was greatest in 2004 (856 villages). The rate of destruction has descreased since 2006. (Source of graph: US Department of State) To see more details about the destruction of villages in Darfur, click here.