Peace, Dignity and Equality on a Healthy Planet

A thematic exhibition "Peace, Dignity and Equality on a Healthy Planet" dedicated to United Nations Day is on show in the Official Documents Service Department (room 207) from October 14 to November 30.

United Nations Day, proclaimed at the 2nd session of the UN General Assembly (resolution A/RES/168 (II), has been celebrated since 1948 on October 24 each year. It was on this day in 1945 that the UN Charter came into force, formally launching its work.

Representatives of 51 countries created the United Nations after the Second World War. The new ambitious association's objectives were to prevent the threat of war, promote international security and work for the development of inter-state cooperation. There are currently 193 United Nations member states. Belarus was one of the founding countries of the United Nations.

The UN has become the world's premier forum for addressing issues that transcend national borders and cannot be dealt with by any one country alone. Over time, new, equally important global challenges have been added to the organisation's original objectives. While conflict resolution and peacekeeping remain the UN's priority areas of action, its specialised agencies also dedicate their work to other tasks such as disaster relief, the empowerment of women and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The celebration of the UN 75th anniversary last year came at a time of great upheaval and peril. This has sparked a worldwide debate about the organisation's future and the future of our civilisation as a whole. Member States have acknowledged together that our problems are interlinked and can only be solved by a concerted effort. For humanity to overcome COVID-19 and for the present generation to fulfil its promise to the future – to build a society where everyone thrives in peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet – 2021 must be the year of the paradigm shift. This requires restructuring the foundations and reaffirming the basic values that will underpin collective action.

The "Our Common Agenda" report, presented to the General Assembly by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in September 2021, identified 12 areas of united action – leave no one behind, protect our planet, promote peace and prevent conflicts, abide by international law and ensure justice, place women and girls at the centre, build trust, improve digital cooperation, uprade the United Nations, ensure sustainable financing, boost partnerships, listen to and work with youth, and be prepared.

The exhibition shows the history of the United Nations from its inception to the present day – its work to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to maintain peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to promote international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian nature.

The exhibition presents more than 100 documents from the collections of the National Library in Russian and English. Among them are books, brochures, official UN materials and periodicals.

The exhibition consists of the following thematic sections:

• About the UN
• Maintenance of international peace and security
• Fostering sustainable development
• Promotion and protection of human rights
• International Law
• Provision of humanitarian aid
• United Nations and the Republic Belarus

The exhibition will be of interest to specialists in the field of international law and international relations, political scientists, students and teachers, as well as everyone who is interested in the activities of the UN.

Related links:

• United Nations Day (24 October)
• Secretary-General’s report on “Our Common Agenda”
• Global issues
• What is peacekeeping
• Sustainable Development Goals
• Main UN bodies
• United Nations system
• History of the United Nations
• Briefly about the UN
  
• Basic Facts about the United Nations, 42nd Edition

The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the library’s opening hours.
Admission is by the library card or by the Social and Cultural Centre ticket.

The books presented at the exhibition can be ordered through the electronic catalogue of the National Library of Belarus.

For more info: (+375 17) 293 27 34.

Official Documents Service Department