Secretary-General Ant¨®nio Guterres (right) pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat memorial in New Delhi on 2 October 2018 to mark the beginning of the celebrations of his 150th birthday. UN Photo/Ishan Tankha
Secretary General's message - 2024
On the International Day of Non-Violence, we commemorate the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, and reaffirm the values to which he dedicated his life: equality, respect, peace and justice.
Our world today is bristling with violence.
Across the globe, conflicts are raging. From Ukraine, to Sudan, the Middle East, and far beyond, war is creating a hellscape of destruction, destitution, and fear. Inequality and climate chaos are undermining the foundations of peace. And hate whipped up online is spilling over onto the streets.
Last month¡¯s Summit of the Future offered hope. Countries came together to lay the groundwork for a renewed multilateralism, equipped to support peace in a changing world. That includes a renewed focus on the underlying causes of conflict ¨C from inequality to poverty and division. Now we need countries to transform those commitments into reality.
Gandhi believed non-violence was the greatest force available to humanity ¨C more powerful than any weapon. Together, let¡¯s build institutions to support that noble vision.
Gandhi believed non-violence was the greatest force available to humanity ¨C more powerful than any weapon. Together, let¡¯s build institutions to support that noble vision.
