This week, on International Day of Peace, UN chief calls for end to wars everywhere. South Sudan’s fragile peace continues to rupture. Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
On International Day of Peace, UN Chief Calls for End to Wars Everywhere
September 21 marked Internaional Day of Peace. UN Secretary-General António Guterres commemorated the day by stating that the “warring world” is “crying out for peace.” Guterres said, “We must silence the guns. End the suffering. Build bridges. And create stability and prosperity.”
International Day of Peace, established in 1981, has a different theme each year. This year, the theme is “act now for a peaceful world,” encouraging collective action to fight hatred and misinformation and support peacebuilders, particularly women and youth.
Guterres’s remarks come in the midst of several major conflicts across the globe including in Israel and Palestine, Ukraine and Russia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Sudan, Thailand and Cambodia, and more.
Guterres stressed the relationship between development and peace, noting that nine of the ten countries struggling most with development are also suffering conflict.
South Sudan’s Fragile Peace Continues to Rupture
South Sudan’s fragile peace is continuing to rupture amidst conflict between government and opposition forces. On September 21, at least 48 people were killed and over 152 injured in fighting between South Sudan’s army and opposition forces in Burebiey.
The fighting began on September 20 when the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition (SPLM-IO) attacked a base belonging to the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces (SSPDF), Upper Nile State Governor James Koang told local outlet Eye Radio.
The government claimed that, according to reports they received, more than 48 members of the SPLM-IO and the allied White Army militia were killed and over 148 injured, while the SSPDF suffered no deaths and only four soldiers were injured. Koang called for calm, and for the opposition forces to stop attacking the SSPDF.
South Sudan experienced a civil war in 2013 which killed over 400,000 people. Despite a peace agreement signed in 2018, Amnesty International on May 28 reported that violence had killed 180 people between March and mid-April amid deepening divisions between President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar. In September 2025, Machar was charged with treason, murder, and crimes against humanity. A trial over the allegations has begun.
Trump’s Gaza Peace Plan
On September 23, US President Donald Trump presented a 21-point peace plan for Gaza to Arab leaders. In addition to the release of all hostages and a permanent ceasefire, the plan also includes a framework for how Gaza can be governed without Hamas and included a proposal for Israel gradually withdrawing from the Gaza strip, a source told CNN.
Other points in the plan included: no annexation of the West Bank by Israel, maintaining the current status quo for Jerusalem, ending the war in Gaza and bringing back all the hostages held by Hamas, increased humanitarian aid to Gaza and addressing Israeli’s illegal settlements.
A diplomat described the meeting as “super useful,” and the Arab leaders agreed to meet again with Trump to address the ongoing process. One European diplomat said the plan could prevent Israel from further annexing the West Bank.
Keywords: United Nations, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, Trump, South Sudan, peace, conflict, conflict resolution
Tara Abhasakun is Peace News Network (PNN)'s managing editor. She is journalist based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and formerly in Bangkok, Thailand. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara's work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.
