On July 25, 2019, the UN General Assembly adopted a Resolution (A/RES/73/329), which established a memorial date celebrated annually on April 5, – International Morality Day. International Day of Conscience).
Morality, which is partly synonymous with the concepts of ethics and morality, is essentially a type of social norm designed to regulate relations between people in society. Being a measure of assessing a person’s actions, morality turns into an internal guideline, in accordance with which a person builds his actions and evaluates the actions of the people around him. Thus, the moral system allows you to regulate relationships between people using your own methods.
Well-known principles or rules of morality (one of which is called «gold») were formed a long time ago. They are also contained in religious norms, including legal norms. There is a close relationship between different types of social norms, where the common task is – regulation of relations between people.
The basis of moral principles is the very «Golden Rule», which calls for treating others as you would like to be treated yourself. Thus, it is based on respect for the rights, feelings, beliefs of other people, building relationships between people on the basis of peace and harmony.
Recognizing the value of morality and its role in building peace and harmony, and recognizing the need to create conditions of well-being and peaceful and friendly relations based on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to race, gender, language and religion, the UN emphasizes that the role of moral values is also great in achieving sustainable development of the world, and this is consistent with the programs and objectives adopted by this international organization.
In addition to the International Day of Morality, the UN has already established other related memorable dates similar in their goals and direction to this day: International Day dedicated to Tolerance, International Day of Non-Violence, International Day of Peace, International Day of Peace Coexistence, World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and development and others.
In establishing the International Day of Morality, the UN emphasizes that fundamental moral principles underlie all International Instruments, including such a core document as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the preamble to which states that disregard and contempt for human rights have led to barbaric acts that outrage the conscience of humanity. In addition, Article 1 of the Declaration states that all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights and are endowed with reason and conscience and must act towards each other in a spirit of brotherhood.
Following these principles contributes to the implementation of many UN programs and the concept of creating a culture of peace, which states that following economic and political agreements alone is not enough to achieve peace and harmony on the planet.
The UN calls on, as part of the celebration of the International Day of Morality, all states, international and regional organizations, and civil society structures to strengthen the culture of peace « in the spirit of love and morality in accordance with their cultural traditions and other appropriate considerations or their local, national or regional customs...».
• Infographics – poster «5 April — International Morality Day»
• Story «The price of love»