UN Headquarters

Letter Written to Secretary-General by UN Messenger of Peace Muhammad Ali

20 February 2026

A letter written by UN Messenger of Peace Muhammad Ali to then Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim along with an original work of art entitled "Peace", painted by Mr. Ali.

In the letter Mr. Ali states that his painting is "a gift of peace from me in this year of the Child". Mr. Ali added: "I pray each of your nations will make a gift or sacrifice for peace in the world". At the end of the letter, Mr. Ali stated that "service to others is the rent we pay for our room here an earth".

Download

Download content

1 asset available

You need to first accept the terms and conditions before download.

Subject to the Terms of usage of UN Photo, UN Photo materials are available free of charge for news purposes only. UN Photo materials may not be sold or redistributed to third parties without the prior written consent of the UN or the UN entity which is source of the UN Photo material. All users of UN Photo materials must provide due credit to the United Nations or any UN entity source(s) in their use and broadcast of UN Photo materials.