| Posted: April 26 2005,06:35 |
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
Building
on 105 years of inter-religious activity, IARF has, in the last 5
years, become more active at the UN and has facilitated engagement in
and follow up of the 2001 UN Consultative Conference in Madrid on
School Education in Relation with Freedom of Religion or Belief,
Tolerance and Non-Discrimination"; IARF has organized in 2002 to 2004
four workshops on four continents to promote teaching of tolerance as
recommended from Madrid. IARF has also helped to revive the NGO
Committee for Freedom of Religion or Belief (Geneva) and serves as
secretary to the committee as well as being elected to the Board of
CONGO (Conference of NGOs in Consultative Staus with ECOSOC). In the
field the young adult programme of IARF has engaged in rehabilitation
work with Muslims and Hindus in Gujarat, India, in work with indigenous
peoples in the Philippines, in network-building in Eastern and Central
Europe, etc.
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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While
most national groups are self-sufficient funding is needed for projects
in developing countries; we have been fortunate to receive funding from
Japanese Buddhists for the education for tolerance programme, from an
American foundation for preparing an "Affirmation of Religious Freedom
and Responsibility" and from the Netherlands government for
preparation of audio-visual teaching materials for human rights
education. Continuing or matching such funding is a perpetual anxiety.
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ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
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Some
actions have alraedy been referred to above, notably the varied
activities of young adults within situations of conflict and tension
such as Gujarat where the confidence building of helping both Muslim
and Hindu vilagers in the aftermath of the earthquake provided a
"preventive" climate when communal riots broke out and spared the area
where IARF had worked. More information on the Young Adult Network from
ramola@iarf.net
The
workshops in Geneva with Muslims and Christians, in Bangalore with
Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims and others from India and Sri Lanka, in
South Africa with teachers and others working on African traditional
values, and in Costa Rica with indigenous teachers working in
indigenous communities and spreading their values more widely, all
contributed to ongoing disussion and syllabus preparation along the
lines advocated by the UN Madrid Conference on teaching of tolerance.
The
current preparation of videos illustrating young people in conflict
mediation and community building across religious and cultural barriers
is a further attempt to demonstrate and disseminate an awareness of the
relevance of creating conditions of respect and understanding among
sometimes alienated religious communities as a highly useful
contribution in creating a culture of peace.
The "Affirmation of
Religious Freedom and Responsibility" (affirmation@iarf.net) is
designed not only to respect and claim the universally recognized right
to freedom of religion or belief, but also to accept the consequent
responsibilities for leaders and members of religious and belief-based
communities (some secular or humanist) to respect the rights of others
and to ensure that no freedoms are abused within their own communities.
Representatives of IARF in New York and Geneva have taken
leadership in the NGO Committees on Freedom of Religion or Belief. In
the case of Geneva IARF was instrumental in reviving the committee with
its cooperative style of working, for example in promoting joint
statements with other NGOs on issues such as Freedom of Religion or
Belief, and Human Rights Education. More information from echappee@bluewin.ch
IARF
in Geneva has taken part in Peace Bell celebrations on 21 September and
local groups have been reminded of the significance of this day.
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ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
Close
cooperation by the Decade should be promoted with the OHCHR Human
Rights Education programme and with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom
of Religion or Belief (notably in explicit utilization of benchmarks
set in 1981 Declaration on Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief as well as strategic
implementation - possibly in cooperation with NGOs - of recommendations
of 2001 Madrid Consultative Conference on "School Education in Relation
with Freedom of Religion or Belief, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination")
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
CONGO (Conference of NGOs in Consultative Staus with ECOSOC) - elected Board member
NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief (New York) - member and former office holder
NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief (Geneva) - elected Secretary
International Interfaith Network, 2 Market St, Oxford, UK
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
All present programmes on-going...World Assembly in 2006 may confirm existing priorities or may set new directions...
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Postal address of organization
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2 Market St OXFORD OX1 3EF, UK
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E-mail address of organization
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hq@iarf.net
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Website address of organization
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www.iarf.net
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Human Rights
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Understanding, tolerance, solidarity
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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International
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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