United Nations, Oct 25 (IANS): UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for global solidarity to tackle common challenges on the occasion of UN Day.

"We face colossal challenges. With global solidarity and cooperation, we can overcome them. That's what the UN is all about," Xinhua news agency quoted Guterres as saying in a message on Saturday.

The 75th anniversary of the UN comes amid a global pandemic, he said, adding that the world body's founding mission was more critical than ever: to promote human dignity, protect human rights, respect international law, and save humanity from war.

Covid-19 is humanity's common enemy in the world today and now is the time for a stepped-up push for peace to achieve a global ceasefire, he said.

"We must also make peace with our planet. The climate emergency threatens life itself. We must mobilize the whole world to reach carbon neutrality -- net zero emissions of greenhouse gasses by 2050.

"Around the world, we must do more to end human suffering from poverty, inequality, hunger and hatred -- and fight discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender or any other distinction," he added.

the Secretary-General asked for the engagement of people everywhere to uphold the values of the UN Charter, build on advances across the decades, and realize the shared vision of a better world for all.

UN Day falls on October 24 when the the UN Charter was implemented.