Religious divisions dangerous to peace - UN

Accra, Sept. 20,GNA - Mr. Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General on Monday said nothing could be more dangerous to the efforts towards building peace and development than a world divided along religious, ethnic or cultural lines.

He said it was important that individual nations and all nations promote greater tolerance and understanding among the peoples of the world based on their shared humanities.

These were contained in the Secretary General's message issued on 50th anniversary of the International Day of Peace, which falls on September 21, each year.

On the day the Peace Bell, which was cast from coins collected by children from 60 countries in 1954 and presented to the UN. Since then the bell rings to send a powerful message around the world about humankind's aspirations for peace.

Mr Kofi Annan said there was the need to build greater international solidarity in tackling grave humanitarian emergencies, such as the one in Darfur, Sudan and forge a true global partnership for development, to fight hunger, ignorance, poverty and diseases and meet the Millennium Development Goals agreed by all Member States as a blueprint for a better world in the 21st century.

He said, "the High-Level Panel I appointed last year was working hard to strengthen the system of collective security and make sure it was up to the task of meeting the threats of the 21st century".

Mr Annan said: "Today, let the sound of this bell inspire us in our work towards those goals. Let the call of the bell ring loud, clear and true around the world."