Uzbekistan, along with other nations of the world, marked the International Day of Peace on Friday 21 September. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country office in Uzbekistan partnered with local and international agencies to celebrate this day.

The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations as an annual observance of global non-violence and ceasefire. Every year, people in all parts of the world honour peace in various ways on 21 September.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolutions in 1981 and 2001 establishing the International Day of Peace and urging "all nations and people" to commemorate the Day as an opportunity to promote peaceful resolutions of conflicts and to honour a cessation of hostilities during the day.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called in his message dedicated to the International Day of Peace for a 24-hour cessation of hostilities on 21 September, and for a minute of silence to be observed around the world at noon local time.

In his statement issued to commemorate this year’s Day of Peace, Secretary-General Ban said that "Peace is the United Nations’ highest calling. It defines our mission. It drives our discourse. And it draws together all of our world wide work, from peacekeeping and preventive diplomacy to promoting human rights and development."

Special Olympics Uzbekistan organized celebratory events to mark the International Day of Peace in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Education of Uzbekistan, Women’s Committee, the International Charity Foundation "Mehrjon Sport", the UN office in Uzbekistan, UNDP, and UNICEF.

In line with the recommendations of the UN, the main event of the day was observance of a minute of silence at schools and universities at noon Tashkent time. Local youth were addressed with presentations "World Without Conflicts", prepared with the support of UNDP in Uzbekistan.

Babur Park of Tashkent hosted several events dedicated to the International Day of Peace on Friday. The events, held under motto "Peace in Your Hands", were opened with performances of children, representing charity houses and cultural centres.

Following the opening ceremony, the organizers invited children to participate in various contests and educational activities, including painting contest on asphalt, sport contests and others. About 250-300 children participated in these events.

Origami lessons were one of the most popular events of the day. Origami (literally meaning "folding paper") is the art of paper folding. Children enjoyed making various figures, sharing them among each other, and learning the most famous origami story – the paper crane of the little girl Sadako.

The paper crane has become an international symbol of peace in recent years as a result of its connection to the story of a young Japanese girl named Sadako Sasaki born in 1943. Sadako was two years old when the atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. At age 11 Sadako was diagnosed with Leukemia, "the atom bomb" disease. Sadako’s best friend told her of an old Japanese legend which said that anyone who folds a thousand paper cranes would be granted a wish. Sadako hoped that the gods would grant her a wish to get well so that she could run again. She started to work on the paper cranes and completed over 1000 before dying on 25 October 1955 at the age of twelve.

Another popular event of the Peace Day celebrations was painting contest at asphalt. The most frequent themes of paintings included doves as symbols of peace and family and the Sun.