Stand up for human rights for all: UN chief

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for redoubling efforts to address the root causes of conflict and advance work for the Sustainable Development Goals including by promoting inclusive societies. 

"Let us stand up for human rights for all in the name of peace for all," he said seeking steps to provide access to justice and building accountable institutions.

The UN chief made the call in a message for 100-day countdown to the International Day of Peace today.

The International Day of Peace, observed every year on September 21, embodies shared aspiration to end conflict in all its forms and to safeguard the human rights of all people.

"It is a day on which the United Nations calls for a 24-hour global ceasefire, with the hope that one day in our lifetime we will witness an end to violence," Guterres said.

He said yet there is more to achieving peace than laying down weapons. "True peace requires standing up for the human rights of all the world's people."

That is why, the UN chief said, this year's theme for the International Day of Peace is: "The Right to Peace - The Universal Declaration of Human Rights at 70".