UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres renewed his call for global peace in a speech at an annual ceremony to ring the Peace Bell.

The event took place in the Japanese garden at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Wednesday. It was held ahead of next week's start of the General Debate, in which world leaders deliver speeches at the General Assembly.

The Peace Bell was donated by Japanese peace activist Nakagawa Chiyoji in 1954 and is cast from coins given by UN member states.

Nakagawa's daughter, Takase Seiko, and Japan's UN ambassador, Ishikane Kimihiro, were among those who attended the ceremony.

Before ringing the bell, Guterres gave a speech in which he said peace "is not solely the responsibility of governments or Presidents. Peace is a job that belongs to each and every one of us."

The trees were trimmed ahead of the ceremony by the Japanese garden's designer, Abe Shinichiro, and landscape gardeners from Japan.

Abe said gardeners will take good care of it so the UN chief can ring the bell and pray for peace every year.