International Day of Peace - UN Chief message (21 September 2022)

Video message by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, on the International Day of Peace. Peace is a noble and necessary pursuit, and the only practical pathway to a better, fairer world for all people. Yet in too many places, in too many contexts, we are failing the cause of peace. The theme of this year’s International Day of Peace — “End Racism, Build Peace” — reminds us of the many ways racism poisons people’s hearts and minds and erodes the peace we all seek. Racism robs people of their rights and dignity. It inflames inequalities and mistrust. And it pushes people apart, at a time when we should be coming together, as one human family, to repair our fractured world. Instead of fighting each other, we should be working to defeat our true enemies: racism, poverty, inequality, conflict, the climate crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. We should tear down structures that sustain racism, and lift up human rights movements everywhere. And