UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on the world to “cultivate a culture of peace” in a speech at an annual ceremony to ring the Peace Bell.
The event took place at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Friday. The UN chief rings the bell every year ahead of the International Day of Peace on September 21.
The Peace Bell was donated by Nakagawa Chiyoji, a Japanese peace activist from the western prefecture of Ehime, in 1954. The bell was cast from coins given by more than 60 countries.
Nakagawa’s daughter, Takase Seiko, attended the ceremony.
Guterres told the gathering, “Here at the United Nations, peace is our raison d’etre,” but added that “peace is under threat” and “war is on the march.” He expressed his sense of crisis about the prolonged fighting in Ukraine and Gaza.
Guterres then called for the world “to cultivate a culture of peace,” and expressed hope this call “may ring out around the world.” He offered a moment of silence and rang the bell.
Takase said her father put his energy to building the bell because he believed through his experience of war that the world must be at peace.
She noted there are repeated threats of war, but added that people should not give up and must strive to achieve peace.