UPF’s Work with the United Nations

1. UPF’s Work with the United Nations

2. UPF’s Core Objectives • Renewal of the United Nations • Partnerships among governments, religions, and civil society fostering development grounded in universal values • A culture of peace • A framework for interreligious cooperation

3. UPF’s Consultative Status • The Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (UPF) was granted Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council on July 23, 2004.

4. UPF’s Office of UN Relations • Submits reports to the UN Secretary-General • Submits reports to the Member-States

5. UN Diplomats at International Leadership Conferences The world must teach its children the wisdom of all cultures. Dr. Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan (L) President, UNESCO General Conference

6. Observing Peace Initiatives Members of UN delegations were part of a Middle East Peace Initiative trip.

7. Working for UN Renewal

8. Hopes on the Eve of Signing the UN Charter There were many who doubted that agreement could ever be reached by ... countries differing so much in race and religion, in language and culture…. If we had had this charter a few years ago—and, above all, the will to use it—millions now dead would be alive. If we should falter in the future in our will to use it, millions now living will surely die. Harry Truman US President, June 25, 1945

9. Preamble to the UN Charter We the peoples of the United Nations determined, to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind.…

10. The Ongoing Scourge of War Despite tremendous efforts to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,history recalls The Korean War (1950-53) The Vietnam War (1959-75) The Kosovo War (1991-96) And many more

11. Call for UN Renewal We must supplement formal institutions with informal policy networks, bringing together international institutions, civil society and private-sector organizations, and national governments, in pursuit of common goals. Kofi Annan former UN Secretary-General “We the Peoples,” April 3, 2000

12. Call for UN Renewal The time has come for the United Nations to outline its working relationship with civil society organizations. H.E. Anwarul K. Chowdhury former UN Undersecretary-General

13. Call for UN Renewal Rev. Sun Myung Moon Address at UN Headquarters August 18, 2000 World peace can be fully accomplished only when the wisdom and efforts of the world's religious leaders work cooperatively and respectfully with national leaders. Serious consideration should be given to forming a religious assembly or council of religious representatives within the structure of the UN.

14. Need for a Formal UN Body • Ambassadors and diplomats have their own spiritual values. • However, we need an institutionalized body within the United Nations to bring spiritual values formally to UN discourse.

15. Value of Religious Teaching • All religions teach compassion, love for one another, and consideration for those in need. • All religions have the power to end the cycles of resentment and violence, bringing about true reconciliation.

16. Compassion • All men are responsible for one another. Talmud, Sanhedrin 27b (Judaism) • Give and it will be given to you. Luke 6.38 (Christianity) • All [human] creatures are God’s children, and those dearest to God are those who treat His children kindly. Hadith of Baihaqi (Islam) • The Great Compassionate Heart is the essence of Buddhahood. Gandavyuha Sutra (Buddhism)

17. Love for the Enemy • Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5.43-48 (Christianity) • The good deed and the evil are not alike. Repel the evil deed with one which is better, then lo! He with whom you had enmity shall become a bosom friend. Qur’an 41.34 (Islam)

18. Love for the Enemy • Aid an enemy before you aid a friend, to subdue hatred. Tosefta, Baba Metzia 2.26 (Judaism) • Hatreds never cease through hatred in this world; through love alone they cease. Dhammapada 3-5 (Buddhism) • Do good to him who has done you an injury. Tao Te Ching 63 (Taoism)

19. Mahatma Gandhi Mother Teresa Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

20. Interreligious Voices Contribute to UPF Deliberations

21. Religion Contributes to Peace The negotiations between Menachem Begin, Anwar el-Sadat, and myself at Camp David in 1978 were greatly influenced by our religious backgrounds. This was evident in the fact that a joint appeal for prayer preceded our discussions… Begin and Sadat were deeply religious men. Jimmy Carter Former President of the US

22. UN General Assembly Resolutions • “Promotion of Interreligious Dialogue” (A/RES/59/23, November 2004) • “Promotion of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace” (A/RES/60/10, Oct. 2005) • “Promotion of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding and Cooperation for Peace” (A/RES/60/L.11/Rev.2, December 2006)

23. Sponsoring Nations Azerbaijan Bangladesh Belarus Belize Benin Burkina Faso Cambodia Cameroon Comoros Congo Costa Rica Djibouti Dominican Republic Egypt El Salvador Gabon Gambia Guatemala Guinea Haiti Honduras Indonesia Iran Kazakhstan Kuwait Madagascar Malaysia Marshall Islands Micronesia Mongolia Morocco Myanmar Nicaragua Oman Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Philippines Qatar Russian Federation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Senegal Sudan Suriname Tajikistan Thailand Timor-Leste Uzbekistan Spearheaded by the Philippines Sponsored by

24. Focal Unit to Aid Dialogue …insures the systematic and organizational follow-up of this dialogue through the designation of a focal unit in the Secretariat to handle these matters. December 2006 GA Resolution RESULT: Focal unit was established in 2007.

25. Call for High-Level Dialogue • Call for convening a “high-level dialogue on interreligious and intercultural cooperation for the promotion of tolerance, understanding and universal respect on matters of freedom of religion or belief and cultural diversity, in coordination with other similar initiatives in this area.” • RESULT: a High-level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace was held October 4-5, 2007.

26. Address to High-Level Dialogue In today’s era of global travel and instant satellite transmissions, people everywhere are encountering less of the familiar, and more of ‘the other.’ This reality has fed rising intercultural and inter-religious tensions, as well as growing alienation among vast segments of the world population. Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary-General

27. Address to High-Level Dialogue It is time to promote the idea that diversity is a virtue, not a threat. It is time to explain that different religions, belief systems and cultural backgrounds are essential to the richness of the human experience. And it is time to stress that our common humanity is greater-–far greater-–than our outward differences. Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary-General

28. Address to High-Level Dialogue Today’s gathering also comes at a particularly auspicious time, as Jews mark the celebration of the Torah and Muslims approach the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Such occasions remind us that men and women of faith around the world can be brought together, rather than separated, by their convictions and their belief in something greater than themselves. Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary-General

29. An Idea Whose Time Has Come We believe the creation of an interreligious council or a specific unit on interfaith understanding within the UN system is an idea whose time has come. Hon. Jose de Venecia, Jr. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Philippines

30. Your Support Is Needed. Create committees promoting an Interreligious Council at the United Nations. Invite broad participation • Religious leaders • Political leaders • Scholars • Journalists • NGO leaders Submit proposals to parliaments and heads of state.