RP, Pakistan urge creation of an interfaith unit in UN | November 07, 2006

By Veronica Uy
Last updated 04:36pm (Mla time) 11/07/2006

THE Philippines and Pakistan on Monday asked the United Nations Secretary General to create within the UN Secretariat a unit that would "ensure overall coordination and coherence in the UN system's efforts to promote inter-religious, intercultural, and inter-civilizational dialogue and cooperation."

In an e-mail to Philippine media outfits, the Philippine Mission to the United Nations said the request was made in the form of a resolution introduced before the General Assembly.

Ambassador Lauro Baja Jr., Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said the resolution calls for the holding next year of a High Level Dialogue on Inter-Religious and Intercultural Cooperation to discuss how the international community could work together to attain universal respect for all religious and cultural values.

He said the resolution also seeks to declare one of the coming years as the Year of Dialogue among Religions and Cultures. For this purpose, he said member-states, the UN system, and civil society are urged to undertake appropriate activities to mark the event.

Baja said the resolution was tabled under agenda item 44 on "culture of peace."

Other co-sponsors include Bangladesh, Belarus, Belize, Cambodia, Congo, Costa Rica, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Gabon, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Micronesia, Morocco, Myanmar, Senegal, Sudan, Thailand, and Timor-Leste.

"We expect the list of co-sponsors to grow before the adoption of the resolution by the General Assembly," he said.

Baja said that the Philippines and Pakistan decided to consolidate their respective resolutions not only to streamline the work of the General Assembly in relation to inter-related resolutions, but more importantly to highlight the intertwined dimensions of religions and cultures in promoting a culture of peace.

"The world, in particular the faith communities and their leaders and other stakeholders, is watching how we will address the culture of peace resolution from the prism of interfaith, intercultural and inter-civilizational dialogue and cooperation," he added.

Copyright 2006 INQ7.net. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.