Faith in the Future--the Role of the UN Religious Community

The UN: Past, Present, Future

October 2005

Banner photo: ©SEKAI BUNKA

Faith in the Future--the Role of the UN Religious Community

By Hiro Sakurai

The Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace at the UN Headquarters, June 22, 2005 (Hiro Sakurai, podium far right)

When people think of the United Nations, they think of an organization of governments, perhaps supported by international relief agencies and other high-profile groups. What is often overlooked is the role of religious communities in contributing to both the UN's agenda and its activities. Through NGO networks, people of different faiths with a shared interest in peace, development and human rights come together at the UN not only to offer their separate and distinct perspectives, but also to forge agreement on how to realize these goals. Our discussions are not theological or abstract; they cut to the heart of the problems facing the world today, and offer hope for solutions.

Post 9/11

The need for the unique and potentially healing power of religious dialogue has never been more acute than in the post-9/11 period. Shortly after that cataclysmic event, I ran into Giandomenico Picco, then Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Personal Representative for the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. Mr. Picco told me that before the planes hit the World Trade Center there had been no budget and little interest in the Year. But over the course of 2001, government representatives gained a growing awareness of the importance of the dialogue it sought to promote.

The Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN (RNGO), which I now chair, responded quickly to 9/11. The committee's executive bureau, which consists of representatives of Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Bahá'í and other faith traditions, reorganized its monthly briefing sessions to focus on interfaith dialogue with a particular focus on the voices and realities of Islam, with themes such as "Transnational Political Islam: Challenges and Perspectives" and "Hatred, Retribution and Forgiveness."

The exercise of confronting these sensitive issues at a time of heightened global fear and mistrust awakened participants about how little we knew about each other's faiths. This, in turn, prompted still more interest in learning through dialogue.

The conversations among religious groups were valuable, but as organizers, we were acutely aware of the importance of sharing views also among governments and the UN as a whole. This goal was realized in June 2005, when the committee was invited to join representatives of over a dozen governments as well as officials from the UN in co-organizing a Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace which inspired discussion on how to translate our shared values into practical action.

Taking these valuable lessons to the next level, we communicated our results to the President of the General Assembly as input to the summit of leaders from 170 countries to be held in September.

Building Bridges

Throughout this process I was struck by the earnestness of all participants and their mutual determination to grapple with pressing global issues. In the conference room, a rare scene unfolded: there were government officials, UN staff and NGO representatives all gathered around a single laptop computer working in a spirit of openness and equality to finalize the conference's report for adoption.

Immediately following the conference, the committee hosted a reception at the Church Center across the street from the UN. Shortly after the event began, a rainbow appeared over the UN. Many of us went out to the Center's balcony to view it. It appeared to be bridging the General Assembly Building and the UN Secretariat, and served as a metaphor for the mission of interfaith initiatives: to close the gap between the religious community, the UN and governments.

In essence, religious communities can offer hope that stems from a belief rooted in as yet unrealized possibilities. Faith in the positive potential of ourselves and others is a vital prerequisite for meaningful dialogue. Without this faith, we lapse into monologue or silence. With it, we can come together in local and global exchanges, finding solutions that will enrich and benefit all humanity.