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INTRODUCING THE DRAFT RESOLUTION SUBMITTED BY
THE PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY ON THE
INTERNATIONAL DAY OF HAPPINESS

New York, 28 June 2012

 

It is a matter of particular honor and pleasure for me to present to the General Assembly this draft resolution (A/66/L.48/Rev.1) as the text of the President on behalf of all of you.

I was very encouraged by the two-day high level event organised at the UN last April devoted to “happiness”. In my statement at that meeting, I underscored the need for “a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach that will promote sustainability, eradicate poverty, and enhance well-being and happiness.”

In that context, I intended to take an initiative to follow up on the GA resolution 65/309 which recognized that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal. The same resolution invited us to elaborate measures that better capture the importance of the pursuit of happiness and well-being in human development.

I believe that the proclamation of an International Day of Happiness by the General Assembly to be observed every year with full participation of the international community as a whole would be a forward-looking way of focusing on the value of happiness as a universal goal and aspiration in the lives of all.

The choice of the date 20 March as the International Day of Happiness has the general support of all. Being the day of equinox, it is a day of special planetary and global significance. This date would also be more convenient for all, including civil society to join in the celebration of the Day by the UN and the international community as a whole.

 

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