UN World Days — English

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UN World Days

The UN has voted over 60 symbolic dates as World Days.

Below is a list of some of these days relating to peace, nonviolence and a more humane world.

October 2 - International Day of Nonviolence

The United Nations created the International Day of Nonviolence to reaffirm “the universal relevance of the principle of nonviolence” and to “secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding, and nonviolence.” The first International Day of Nonviolence was celebrated on October 2, 2007 at the United Nations.

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August 19 - World Humanitarian Day

World Humanitarian Day was designated in December 2008 to increase public awareness regarding :

  • Humanitarian activities around the world,
  • The efforts of aid workers who have dedicated their lives to humanitarian work, and
  • The importance of international cooperation in this domain.

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September 21 - International Day of Peace

In 1981, the General Assembly declared that the opening day of the General Assembly session each September “shall be officially dedicated and observed as the International Day of Peace and shall be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.”

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March 8 - International Women's Day

International Women’s Day precedes the formation of the United Nations.  It was celebrated for the first time in 1911 in different countries around Europe to demand  :

  • the right  for women to vote and the right to hold public office
  • the right  for women to work and to receive professional training
  • an end to discrimination against women in the workplace.

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December 10 - Human Rights Day

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written in 1948, was the first international recognition that all human beings have fundamental rights and liberties.

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November 20 - Universal Children's Day

November 20th marks the date on which the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.

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