Bangkok--18 Sep--UNISBKK Role of human rights in achieving peace to be theme of forum at Chulalongkorn University The International Day of Peace is observed annually on 21 September. As this year’s International Day of Peace coincides with the 60th anniversaries of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and of UN peacekeeping, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) — in partnership with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Faculty of Political Science at Chulalongkorn University — will hold an observance featuring a youth forum on the topic “?The Role of Human Rights in Achieving Peace.” Student representatives from four Bangkok academic institutions — Chulalongkorn University, Kasetsart University, Thammarsat University and Srinakharinwirot University — will take part in the forum, which will be moderated by Dr. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Director of the Institute of Security and International Relations, at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Political Science. In addition, a special video message from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be screened at the observance, and the United Nations’ peace bell will also be rung. The International Day of Peace was established by the UN General Assembly as a Day devoted to “to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples” and as a Day of “global ceasefire and non-violence.” Members of the press are invited to attend the observance. It will take place between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Friday, 19 September 2008, at the Mahittalathibet Building (next to the Faculty of Economics) at Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Road, Bangkok. For more information, please contact: UN Information Services, ESCAP Tel.: +66-2-288-1861-9 Fax: +66-2-288-1052Email: [email protected]