UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday designated 19-year-old Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan as the UN's youngest Messenger of Peace.

In a ceremony held in United Nations, Guterres said the designation came for Malala's service to the ideals and objectives of the United Nations and her courageous defence of the rights of all people, including women and girls.

Malala said she was honoured to be the Messenger of Peace. At the occasion, she once again appealed for education opportunities ' title=' equal education opportunities '>equal education opportunities for girls.

"Education is the basic right for every child; especially for girls, this right should not be neglected," Malala was quoted as saying.

Born on July 12, 1997 in Pakistan's Swat Valley, Yousafzai became an international symbol of the fight for girls' education after being shot on October 9, 2012 for opposing Taliban restrictions on female education.

She survived the attack and became an advocate for the millions of girls denied a formal education worldwide.

Malala became the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2014.