The International Day of Peace, a UN initiative, sees nations across the world engaging in practical acts of peace to promote the goal of peace building and conflict resolution. Right now, almost one-in-four people worldwide live in conflict-affected countries. A group of approximately 30 conflict-affected countries accounts for almost half of all the deaths of children around the world.

International Day of Peace works towards combating these statistics and building peaceful communities. In Australia this means calling on the government to not cut aid and fulfil its commitment to peace building initiatives.

The International Day of Peace comes just weeks after the Coalition government’s announcement to slash $4.5 billion out of the aid budget over the next four years. These latest cuts represent a broken promise to the world’s poor and will damage Australia's reputation as a good international citizen that adheres to long-standing commitments.

Alistair Gee says:   “We are hoping the Coalition government will re-consider the drastic cuts to aid, after such a strong show of community support for overseas aid. As one of the richest countries in the world, it is shameful that we are shirking our moral responsibility to the world’s poor. ”

Act for Peace encouraged churches of all denominations to come together to take action on International Day of Peace. They helped churches to take action for peace and build a strong voice that will not be ignored.