What will you do to make peace on September 21? Please log your commitment on
www.peaceoneday.org to inspire others. By working together there will be Peace One Day
Uniting Na
tions
Jeremy Gilley feels that the United Nations (UN) is the closest thing we have to an organization that unites
the global community, and that we should do all we can to support it.
Jeremy knew that a day of ceasefire and nonviolence would have more meaning if it was established
through the UN.
Below is some information about the UN, the General Assembly, and Jeremy’s process in gaining support for
a General Assembly Resolution calling for ceasefire and nonviolence on September 21 annually.
Where It All Be
gan
At the end of World War II, 51 nations came The President of the General Assembly changes
together to create an organization that would work each year and comes from one of the member
for peace and prosperity across the whole world. states.
The United Nations officially began on October 24,
1945, dedicated to peace, justice, and the well- In the film you saw Jeremy meeting the then
being of all people. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. This was a very
important meeting for Jeremy and signaled a
It enables countries of the world to work together turning point in his journey toward establishing a
to prevent conflict through negotiation and to UN day of ceasefire and non-violence. However,
address international problems together. Two Jeremy still needed the support of two governments:
important principles of the United Nations are one to sponsor (the United Kingdom) and another
that countries must try to settle their differences to co-sponsor (Costa Rica) a Resolution.
by peaceful means and avoid using force or
threatening to use force. As you saw in the film, the resolution was adopted
by all the governments represented at the UN.
The United Nations is based in New York, but it has
branches in many parts of the world. The senior Find out what you can about the work of the
person who presides over the United Nations United Nations. You can start with its website,
secretariat is called the Secretary-General.
www.un.org/aboutun/untoday/
Today (2009), there are 192 member states that
meet in the General Assembly. All nations, whether
small or large, have one vote, and the decisions
they make are called Resolutions.
General Assembly Resolutions cannot be forced on
any country, but they are vitally important because
they represent the opinion of world governments.
Resource M – Uniting Nations
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