The UN Secretary-General calls on nations to increase their efforts to reduce stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in his International Day of Peace message.

"As long as such weapons exist, no one is safe," Ban Ki-moon said after sounding the UN Peace Bell in a Friday ceremony held at the UN Headquarters in New York.

"On this International Day of Peace, I have a simple message for all: We Must Disarm! We must have peace," he added.

"Most of the victims of conflict are powerless, innocent civilians, fathers, mothers, (and) children… they have little hope of improving their lives. Little hope of escaping poverty."

The UN marked the International Day of Peace on Friday because Monday is a public holiday in most regions around the world.

A campaign Ban Ki-moon launched against weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) 100 days ago, dubbed WMD-We Must Disarm, will also end on September 21, the International Day of Peace.

During the past 100-days, Ban, UN Messenger of Peace Michael Douglas and actor Rainn Wilson have tried to raise awareness on the dangers and costs of nuclear weapons by using Twitter, Facebook and MySpace to send daily messages about disarmament.

After the Peace Bell ceremony, Ban spoke at a gathering of over 1,000 students and teachers at the UN Headquarters, explaining that the Twitter messages were attempts to involve the whole world in the campaign against weapons of mass destruction.

“Not just political leaders but citizens everywhere -- including students like you… You are the future leaders and owners of this planet earth,” he said.

“Because the world is over-armed and peace is under-funded ... Because disarmament contributes to development... And because nukes threaten humankind… Let's get rid of them for good,” he urged.

The UN also held events elsewhere in the world to mark the occasion, such as Geneva, where non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and Permanent Missions at the UN Office took part in a discussion on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and peace.

The Kabul headquarters of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also marked the day by releasing twenty-one white doves into the sky on Wednesday.

In Egypt, the UN Information Center (UNIC) in Cairo, the Human Rights Department of the Arab League, and the Youth Arab Council for Development also organized a signing ceremony in support of the WMD-We Must Disarm campaign.

MJ/DT