Secretary-General's remarks at the ringing of the Peace Bell for the International Day of Peace

This peace bell, cast from coins donated by children from all continents, is a symbol of global solidarity. A gift of Japan, it also is a reminder of the human cost of war.

“Long live absolute peace”, reads the inscription on its side. Every year on the International Day of Peace, people throughout the world gather -- many of them around the replicas of this bell -- to reiterate that sentiment, to remember the victims of conflict, and to rededicate themselves to the age-old quest for building a safer, more just world.

Here at UN Headquarters, staff members, non-governmental organizations and individuals representing a variety of religious and spiritual traditions are marking the occasion with a vigil in the meditation room.

This year begins a new peace-day tradition. The General Assembly decided that from now on, the International Day of Peace will be observed every year on 21 September, as “a day of global ceasefire and non-violence”. I stand here today to call on all nations and all people to cease all hostilities for all of tomorrow.

Twenty-four hours - twenty-four hours to give relief workers a safe interlude for the provision of vital services; to offer mediators a building block towards a wider truce; to allow all those engaged in conflict to reconsider the wisdom of further violence.

Twenty-four hours: not a long time, but enough for the world's leaders to begin to listen to their peoples. Some of those peoples want an end to repression and intolerance –and would say so publicly if they could exercise their fundamental rights and freedoms. Others want relief from poverty and despair, and would also be more vocal about it were they not so burdened with the daily struggle of providing food and shelter for their families.

Leaders have a special responsibility to hear the message of the Peace Bell. May it resound far and wide, tomorrow and every day.

Thank you very much.