International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
On 23 August 2013, the Sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Previously, the Fifty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2005 as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education to promote education, health, development and peace. Many organizations of the United Nations system, including the International Forum on Sport, Peace and Development, organized jointly with the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace, have already established partnerships with the International Olympic Committee. The mission and role of the Committee, as set out in the Olympic Charter, are placing sport at the service of humankind and promoting a peaceful society and healthy lifestyles by associating sport with culture and education and safeguarding human dignity without any discrimination whatsoever. The General Assembly also recognizes the role that the International Paralympic Committee plays in showcasing the achievements of athletes with an impairment to a global audience and in acting as a primary vehicle to change societal perceptions of disability sport.
International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Transatlantic slave trade The transatlantic slave trade was the largest forced migration in history, and undeniably one of the most inhumane. The extensive exodus of Africans spread to many areas of the world over a 400-year period and was unprecedented in the annals of recorded human history. As a direct result of the transatlantic slave trade, the greatest movement of Africans was to the Americas — with 96 per cent of the captives from the African coasts arriving on cramped slave ships at ports in South America and the Caribbean Islands. From 1501 to 1830, four Africans crossed the Atlantic for every one European, making the demographics of the Americas in that era more of an extension of the African diaspora than a European one. The legacy of this migration is still evident today, with large populations of people of African descent living throughout the Americas. Forever Free: Celebrating Emancipation The Emancipation Proclamation, signed by President Abraham Lincoln on 1 January 1863, which declared that; all persons held as slaves within any States, or designated part of the State, the people whereof shall be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free. This year’s theme, “Forever Free: Celebrating Emancipation”, pays tribute to all those who worked tirelessly to overturn the acceptance of the slave trade and institution of slavery as legitimate and moral. By the early nineteenth century it was becoming clear to the international community that the trade of enslaved people was no longer tolerable. The initial momentum to overturn the formerly accepted view began with the early Anglo-American abolitionist movement. Individuals and organizations corresponded, advocated and published books, pamphlets and newspapers as part of an effort to raise awareness of the cause. This was the beginning of one of the largest humanitarian movements ever seen. A key role in this early movement was played by a number of black abolitionists, including the British group the Sons of Africa, whose members included Olaudah Equiano (Gustavus Vassa) and Ottobah Cugoano. The abolitionist movement gathered pace, with groups such as the Quakers working to effect change from the ground up. Several states in the United States beginning with Vermont in 1777 passed anti-slave trade and anti-slavery laws long before federal legislation. A global effort was also building with many nations becoming signatories to international treaties on the issue. By 1807 Great Britain and America legally abolished the transatlantic slave trade. These actions however did not mean the end of slavery. Decades later, the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 ended slavery in Canada, the British West Indies and the Cape of Good Hope, while the Indian Slavery Act was signed in 1843. Slavery was abolished in 1848 in France, in 1853 in Argentina, in 1863 in the Dutch colonies and the United States, and in 1888 in Brazil. Commemorating the memory of the victims In commemoration of the memory of the victims, the General Assembly, in its resolution 62/122 of 17 December 2007, declared 25 March the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, to be observed annually. The resolution also called for the establishment of an outreach programme to mobilize educational institutions, civil society and other organizations to inculcate in future generations the “causes, consequences and lessons of the transatlantic slave trade, and to communicate the dangers of racism and prejudice.”
World Water Day
International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day. The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/47/193 of 22 December 1992 by which 22 March of each year was declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in 1993, in conformity with the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) contained in Chapter 18 (Fresh Water Resources) of Agenda 21. States were invited to devote the Day, as appropriate in the national context, to concrete activities such as the promotion of public awareness through the production and dissemination of documentaries and the organization of conferences, round tables, seminars and expositions related to the conservation and development of water resources and the implementation of the recommendations of Agenda 21.
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
Created by the resolution found here: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/2142%20(XXI)
International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
World Day of Social Justice
Social justice is an underlying principle for peaceful and prosperous coexistence within and among nations. We uphold the principles of social justice when we promote gender equality or the rights of indigenous peoples and migrants. We advance social justice when we remove barriers that people face because of gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture or disability. For the United Nations, the pursuit of social justice for all is at the core of our global mission to promote development and human dignity. The adoption by theInternational Labour Organization of the Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization is just one recent example of the UN system’s commitment to social justice. The Declaration focuses on guaranteeing fair outcomes for all through employment, social protection, social dialogue, and fundamental principles and rights at work. The General Assembly proclaimed 20 February as World Day of Social Justice in 2007, inviting Member States to devote the day to promoting national activities in accordance with the objectives and goals of the World Summit for Social Development and the twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly. Observance of World Day of Social Justice should support efforts of the international community in poverty eradication, the promotion of full employment and decent work, gender equity and access to social well-being and justice for all.
International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation
Female genital mutilation (FGM) comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons, and is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women. It reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes, and constitutes an extreme form of discrimination against women. It is nearly always carried out on minors. The practice also violates a person’s rights to health, security and physical integrity, the right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and the right to life when the procedure results in death. Though the practice has persisted for over a thousand years, programmatic evidence suggests that FGM/C can end in one generation. While UNICEF currently works in 22 countries on the elimination of FGM/C, since 2008 UNFPA and UNICEF have collaborated on the UNFPA-UNICEF Joint Programme on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: Accelerating Change in 15 of those countries in West, East and North Africa. On 20 December 2012, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution A/RES/67/146 in which it “Calls upon States, the United Nations system, civil society and all stakeholders to continue to observe 6 February as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation and to use the day to enhance awareness- raising campaigns and to take concrete actions against female genital mutilations”.
International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust
Created by following UN resolution: http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/60/7
Human Rights Day
International Anti-Corruption Day
The United Nations’ (UN) International Anti-Corruption Day aims to raise public awareness of corruption and what people can do to fight it. It is observed on December 9 each year.