International Day of Peace - 2 September 2026

Introduction

The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire.

“_Peace is not just made at conference tables, but in classrooms, neighbourhoods, and everywhere people meet with open minds and open hearts. Together, day by day, we can build a more just world, with compassion, equality and dignity for all_” (UN Secretary-General António Guterres).

“Under the theme Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day, this year’s International Day of Peace honours the **'everyday architects of peace'**”.

“Peacebuilding is also about prevention, addressing the root causes of conflict such as poverty, inequality, and discrimination.”

The UIA supports Sustainable Development as laid down by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including in particular SDG 16:

_“Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels_”.

As specified by Target 16.3: 

“_Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.”_

(Cfr. TheResolution on Sustainability and the Role of the Legal Profession approved by the General Assembly of the UIA, held in Rome on 25 October 2023 on the occasion of the 67th Congress)

The UIA recognises that Bar Associations, Law Societies and legal practitioners across the globe have a critical role to play in preventing conflicts and disputes and in their peaceful resolution - the latter is expressly listed in our Statutes as one of the objectives of the UIA together with promoting the Rule of law (art 3.2), and the UIA has actively encouraged resorting to mediation for the prevention and resolution of civil and commercial conflicts by establishing a Mediation and Conflict Prevention Commission and the World Forum of Mediation Centres (the latter has been meeting every 9 months since 2001).

Furthermore, the General Assembly of the UIA held in Guadalajara on 29 October 2025 on the occasion of the 69th Congress adopted the Declaration on Dispute Prevention and Resolution and the Role of the Legal Profession (the “Guadalajara Resolution”) which in its Recitals provides as follows: 

“Recognises that the clients’ interests have evolved in the current, pluralistic offering of justice, which opens up to litigants several routes of access to the prevention and resolution of their problems, disputes, conflicts, and litigation in a quest for both quality and efficiency.

Notes that in particular among [Dispute Prevention and Resolution] (DPR) processes, negotiation, mediation, and conciliation are efficient because they allow people to express themselves and to be heard in a collaborative and respectful environment with the help of a third party independent, impartial, and neutral, to rebuild the communication link and the trust between the parties. (…)

_Recognises_that DPR processes give the parties the opportunity to exercise their own full powers and autonomy to analyse their own situation, explore ways of resolving matters consensually and communicating peacefully and respectfully in a dedicated space, encouraging open and constructive dialogue, with the support of a mediator and if they choose to settle, to reach a mutually satisfactory outcome more quickly than by going to court.”

For the purposes of implementing the Guadalajara Declaration, the UIA has set up an ad hoc DPR Task Force and holds specific trainings (DPRLab) to develop for Bar Associations, Law Societies and legal practitioners, practical tools to invest and build in amicable resolution and peace in conflicts.

The actions and initiatives of the UIA are therefore particularly in line with the specific topic of the 2026 UN International Day of Peace: 

“Invest in Peace: For Everyone, Everywhere, Every Day”

***

The UIA celebrates the International Day of Peace by

• affirming its role and commitment towards **“**building the architecture of peace and justice using #InvestInPeace”;
• supporting the peaceful settlement of disputes, of all kinds of disputes and conflicts and between all kinds of parties, whether private or public parties, including States, in civil and commercial disputes, at domestic, regional and international level, including international disputes between States, and reaffirming the right of everyone to enjoy the highest possible standards of dispute prevention and resolution.

The UIA therefore:

• Calls upon States and legislators across the globe, and the broader international community generally, to encourage and increase the use of dispute prevention and resolution processes;
• Calls upon judges and arbitrators to stay proceedings and actively invite the parties to engage in dispute prevention and resolution processes;
• Calls upon all lawyers
  • to adapt and develop their mindset and consider a new role of conflict preventers and resolvers, through a non-positional but direct, interest-based problem-solving and principled/collaborative negotiation or through mediation and conciliation with the assistance of a neutral, impartial and independent mediator;
  • as an ethical duty, when the applicable law does not impose a binding obligation, to examine with their clients the possibility of preventing and resolving their problems, disputes, conflicts and litigation by resorting to dispute prevention and resolution processes prior to commencing court or arbitration proceedings or whilst such proceedings are pending, by facilitating a fully informed decision by their clients and when drafting a legal document, by introducing a clause to this effect;
• Calls upon all Bar Associations, Law Societies, Law schools and Legal education institutions to promote the legal profession's consideration of dispute prevention and resolution processes.

The UIA remains committed to using its best efforts to promoting the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflicts and disputes by lawyers on a day-by-day basis as “architects of peace” and to implementing the Guadalajara Declaration. 

                                                                                                                                 #PeaceBegins #InvestInPeace #UIA