Education is, quite simply, peace-building by another name. It is the most effective form of defense spending there is.
It may seem sometimes as if a culture of peace does not stand a chance against the culture of war, the culture of violence and the cultures of impunity and intolerance. Peace may indeed be a complex challenge, dependent on action in many fields and even a bit of luck from time to time. It may be a painfully slow process, and fragile and imperfect when it is achieved. But peace is in our hands. We can do it.
Peace is never a perfect achievement.
There is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children.
On this International Day of Peace, let us all honor those who have suffered from violence. Let us hold in our hearts the ideal of peace.
In some ways, the challenges are even more daunting than they were at the peak of the cold war. Not only do we continue to face grave nuclear threats, but those threats are being compounded by new weapons developments, new violence within States and new challenges to the rule of law.
