Sadly, our world doesn't live up to Mahatma Gandhi's values: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said International Day of Nonviolence celebrates not only Mahatma Gandhi's birthday but also the values he embodied that have resonated throughout the decades: peace, mutual respect, and the essential dignity shared by all people. Unfortunately, our world does not live up to those standards.
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FollowUN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed regret that the world is failing to live up to Mahatma Gandhi's values and urged nations to overcome the challenges of poverty, racism, and rising hate speech by embracing his values and working across borders to build a more peaceful future for all.
Gandhi's life and example illuminate a timeless path toward a more peaceful and tolerant world. Let us walk this path together, in solidarity, as one human family, said Guterres in his message for the International Day celebrating Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2.
He stated that the International Day of Nonviolence celebrates not only Mahatma Gandhi's birthday but also the values he embodied that have resonated throughout the decades: peace, mutual respect, and the essential dignity shared by all people.
Unfortunately, our world does not live up to those standards. We can see this in the escalating conflicts and climate chaos. Poverty, hunger, and widening disparities. Prejudice, racism, and an increase in hate speech. And a morally bankrupt global financial system that entrenches poverty and stymies development, according to Guterres.
The UN Secretary-General gave a clarion call to the international community, stating that we can overcome these challenges by embracing Gandhi's values and working across cultures and borders to create a better, more peaceful future for all.
He stated that nations could accomplish this by securing and upholding the rights and dignity of all people, particularly the most vulnerable and girls and women, who are frequently denied their basic rights. He stated by taking concrete steps toward inclusion and recognising multicultural, multi-religious, and multi-ethnic societies as assets rather than liabilities.
Nations can do this by investing in people's health, education, decent jobs, and social protection to prevent people from falling and catch them when they do, ensuring access to financing and debt relief for all countries, according to Guterres; and supporting developing countries as they build resilient infrastructure and protect populations from the effects of climate change, while also accelerating the transition from planet-killing fossil fuels to renewable energy.
Mahatma Gandhi's birthday, the International Day of Nonviolence, is observed on October 2. According to the General Assembly resolution from June 2007, which established the commemoration, International Day is an opportunity to "disseminate the message of nonviolence, including through education and public awareness." The resolution reaffirms, "the universal relevance of the principle of nonviolence" and the desire to "secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding, and nonviolence."
(With inputs from PTI)
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