NEW YORK, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- The United Nations marked "Human Solidarity Day" Friday by calling for action to reduce extreme poverty, hunger and disease by 2015.
"We all have a role in overcoming today's economic, political, environmental and social challenges and we must all share the costs and benefits of sustainable development according to needs and ability," said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message for the day, observed annually on Dec. 20. "This is the essence of justice, fairness and equity. It is the meaning of solidarity."
This year's theme for Human Solidarity Day is, "Bridging the gaps to achieve international development goals by 2015 and beyond," the United Nations said in a press release.
"I urge people from all nations, faiths, cultures and traditions to work together in common cause to keep the promise made at the turn of the Millennium and leave a legacy of peace, prosperity and sustainable progress for generations to come," Ban said.
John Ashe, the president of the General Assembly, urged U.N. member states to look beyond 2015.
"The post-2015 development agenda will represent a significant global evolution in our thinking insofar as it envisions an interdependent, planetary community regardless of disparities in development," Ashe said in his message for the day. "I believe that our success at building solidarity, equity and social justice depends on the extent to which our differences are celebrated rather than treated as a justification for hatred and violence."
