In 1981 the United Nations General Assembly resolved to make the third Tuesday in September the International Day of Peace, with the first such day being observed in September 1982. Since 2002 the day has been celebrated on a fixed date, the 21st day of September. According to the official website, the “International Day of Peace provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date.”
Countries in which there are ongoing violent conflicts include Somalia, which has been in a state of civil war since 1991, Afghanistan, which has been in a state of conflict for many years, but with casualties intensified since the US-led military operation started in 2001, Iraq, which has suffered insecurity since the US-led military operation began in 2003, North-West Pakistan, where fighting has continued since the Pakistani Army started searching for al-Qaeda members in 2004, and Mexico, where drug wars have caused many thousands of casualties.
Other countries which continue to experience armed conflicts include the Democratic Republic of Congo (civil war), Colombia (political and drug-related conflict), the Philippines (communist and Islamic insurgency), Turkey (Kurdish separatists), Kashmir (India-Pakistan power struggle), Yemen (Islamic insurgency), Southern Thailand (separatist campaign), Nigeria (oil-related ethnic and political unrest), and Chad and Sudan (Janjaweed militias).