Attention everyone, please. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for a global ceasefire to mark the International Day of Peace, celebrated by the UN on the third Tuesday of September since 1981.
"I call on all warring parties to lay down their weapons and observe a global ceasefire. To them I say: stop the killings and the destruction, and create space for lasting peace."
"Peace is a right, not a demand". We partnered with the #Youth in #Baghdad to hear their thoughts on #PeaceDay #Iraq. pic.twitter.com/xd043xbAzY
— UNAMI (@UNIraq) September 20, 2015
There are a lot of conflicts that could benefit from a pause in fighting, so here's a map of the places that need immediate resolution, created by the Council on Foreign Relations' Center for Preventive Action (the two dots in the US are threats related to the war on terror and IT infrastructure):
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The interactive version of the map includes individual backgrounders on each dot and is worth your time. It doesn't include the most common and often ignored types of conflict, though: domestic violence and gun violence. A complete map of where we need peace every day would look more like this:
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According to CFR, there are at least 30 large-scale conflicts in the world today. For most of us, celebrating Peace Day might take the form of donations. As sci-fi author John Scalzi suggested, the simplest way to help is to donate to those in need of food, shelter, clothing, and support.
New rule for Scalzi household: Anytime one of us looks at our packed fridge/pantry and says there's nothing to eat, $1 to hunger charity.
— John Scalzi (@scalzi) September 19, 2015
The World Food Programme is asking folks to help provide food to Syrian refugees through donations starting at $1.
