The founder of the Universal Peace Federation, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, has spoken of UN renewal in a number of speeches. He emphasizes the world’s “great expectations for the United Nations as an organization embodying humanity's aspiration for peace” and contends that its importance outweighed that of religion, any single nation-state, or other international organization.[1] He especially highlights the UN’s role in promoting the “equalization of life” whereby “developed countries… liberate underdeveloped countries from poverty… help new democratic countries that are in mid-development,” and “sublimate” their “selfish interests.”[2] He believes that the religious or spiritual element is to provide the motive force and direction for humanitarian reform, much as the mind worked harmoniously with the body.[3]

While acknowledging the UN’s “conscientious efforts to establish peace” and its “important contributions,”[4] he notes that its actions “often meet stubborn resistance.” This is because, “Each country is fighting to get benefit for itself.”[5] Such ingrained selfishness, according to Rev. Moon, is the inevitable result of a politics-only approach, since political systems are “based on the idea of a ruling and a ruled class.” Politicization of the UN, in his estimation, will “never resolve the history of the oppressor and the oppressed” and, in fact, had “brought disaster.”[6] As he expressed it,

"When we look at the organization of the UN, we find that it has become the symbol of the body by centering upon individual countries. One hundred eighty-two countries meet together at the United Nations, but if we analyze the substance of it, each one is centered on itself and is exploiting and cheating other countries. This runs counter to the fundamental and basic theory of unification and peace."[7]

The solution he proposes is to combine statesmanship and good governance with the wisdom of the world’s faith traditions and principles of spiritual practice.

However, Rev. Moon is not oblivious to the divisiveness of religion. He acknowledges that “deep-rooted conflict between major religious traditions” have constituted the background of “violent wars all over the world.” He also contends that their “preoccupation with individual salvation and narrow denominational interests” has “prevented religious bodies from giving their utmost to the cause of world salvation.” For this reason, religious people “should engage in deep self-reflection” and “repent.” According to Rev. Moon, “Our age more than any other demands that we go beyond our faiths, and the interests of particular religions, and put our love and ideals into practice for the sake of the world.”[8] This spirit has infused UPF’s presence at the UN.

Rev. Moon established the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP) in 1999 to support the UN Millennium Development Goals, dialogue among civilizations, and pursuit of peace. (The Universal Peace Federation, established in 2005 as a successor to IIFWP, continues to pursue these goals.) In August 2000, IIFWP convened “Assembly 2000,” a major meeting held just prior to the UN’s Millennium Summit and Millennium General Assembly. The event, held jointly at the Waldorf-Astoria and UN Headquarters, was co-sponsored by the Permanent Missions to the UN of Indonesia, Uganda, and Mongolia and chaired by H.E. Makarim Wibisono, the Permanent Ambassador to the UN of Indonesia and President of ECOSOC. Under the theme, “Renewing the United Nations and Building a Culture of Peace,” Assembly 2000 was attended by dignitaries from over 100 nations, including former heads of state and government, religious and parliamentary leaders, and academic, business, and media leaders.

The centerpiece of Assembly 2000 was Rev. Moon’s keynote address, “Renewing the United Nations to Build Lasting Peace” [read excerpts of the speech]. In this speech, Rev. Moon made three proposals: 1) establishment of “a religious assembly, or council of religious representatives within the structure of the United Nations,” i.e., that the UN be restructured as a “bicameral institution”; 2) the creation of “peace zones in areas of conflict … governed directly by the United Nations” with a special emphasis on North and South Korea; and 3) an official commemorative day to uphold the ideal of the family.

Among Rev. Moon’s proposals, the most effort has been invested in attempting to win support for a religious assembly within the UN. Hon. Jose de Venecia, Jr., Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Philippines, had a history of interreligious involvement, and he became a valuable ally. He had brokered ceasefires and peace agreements with Muslim insurgent groups and initiated the move to unite the National Union of Christian Democrats and the Union of Muslim Democrats to form Christian Muslim Democrats, a Philippines dominant political party. Introduced to Rev. Moon’s proposal for an interreligious council at the UN in 2002, he was immediately receptive. He enlisted the support of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and during a state visit to the United States in May 2003, she raised the matter with American President George Bush and members of his Cabinet. According to de Venecia,

"[W]hen President Arroyo mentioned this to President Bush, he welcomed this positively and directed Condoleezza Rice, his [then] National Security Advisor, to coordinate with us in promoting this peace initiative."[9]

Referring to the convergence of his work with that of IIFWP, de Venecia reported to an IIFWP-sponsored “Summit of World Leaders” in August 2003 that “At the fulcrum and the core of this proposal, we, with Rev. Moon… and the other leaders of the IIFWP, have proposed the creation of an Interreligious Council as an organ of the United Nations.”[10] In a letter to the Philippine Foreign Secretary, de Venecia described the initiative “as one of the major foreign policy goals of the Philippines.”[11]

De Venecia said that a resolution would be filed at the 58th UN General Assembly when it convened in September 2003. He acknowledged that creating a new organ of the UN would require a Charter amendment (almost unprecedented in the institution’s nearly 60-year history), invited other nations to join the Philippines in advancing the proposal, called for a General Assembly “Special Committee” to prepare a feasibility study, and proposed that “2004 be declared the Year of the Interfaith Council at the UN.”[12] Karen Smith, Director of the Office of UN Relations for IIFWP, said at the same meeting that “IIFWP has made the goal of winning the support of 50 member states supportive of the resolution.”[13]

The UN has its own mechanisms of change, which grind exceedingly slow. Nevertheless, the Philippine delegation won approval of several resolutions and stimulated interfaith developments which, by UN standards, were signal accomplishments. In November 2004, the 59th General Assembly unanimously adopted resolution 59/23 (“Promotion of interreligious dialogue”) authored by the Philippines and co-sponsored by 24 other countries. It affirmed that “interreligious dialogue” constituted one of the “important dimensions of the dialogue among civilizations and of the culture of peace.” It also invited the Secretary-General “to bring the promotion of interreligious dialogue to the attention of all Governments and relevant international organizations and to submit a report… to the General Assembly.” Philippine Ambassador to the UN Lauro L. Baja termed the resolution a “landmark in UN history” as it “opens the door… to partnership with civil society in general and the religious sector in particular.”[14]

The UN General Assembly passed additional resolutions proposed by the Republic of the Philippines at its 60th assembly in 2005 (60/10) and at its 61st assembly in 2006 (61/221), which garnered more co-sponsors and extended the initial provisions. A “request” in resolution 61/221 calling on the Secretary-General to designate a “focal unit” within the Secretariat to handle interreligious matters and its implementation in 2007 was especially significant.15] As a result of these resolutions, the UN was on record in affirming interfaith cooperation as a necessary component of peace activity and had established a mechanism to monitor progress. According to the Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, this went a long way toward transcending “the orthodox notion that the UN is strictly a secular intergovernmental body.”[16]

Pursuing a parallel line, the Philippines convened a “Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace” in June 2005, which led to the creation of the Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace in 2006. This initially was a partnership of 16 UN-member states, three UN bodies (UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, UNESCO, and the World Bank), and the Committee of Religious NGOs at the UN representing its 110 member organizations (of which IIFWP was a member). The Tripartite Forum held monthly information sessions and successfully pressed for the convening of a “High-Level Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace” at the UN General Assembly in September 2006. The Philippines’ president reinforced these efforts at the UN-sponsored 2005 World Summit of World Leaders and in its “Outcome Document,” which recognized the role of religious leaders and faith communities as one of the significant means for the promotion of peace.

All this signified progress. The UN General Assembly had affirmed interfaith cooperation as a necessary component of peace activity, numerous governmental and non-governmental entities had convened conferences, and the UN Secretariat had established a focal unit to monitor interfaith development. Nevertheless, this fell well short of implementing a religious assembly or council within the structure of the UN. Additionally, and perhaps more significantly, IIFWP and UPF had been relegated to the sidelines. De Venecia remained an ally, but the Philippines’ diplomatic corps at the UN was distant. IIFWP had input on de Venecia’s original proposal but none at all on resolutions 60/10 or 61/221. Moreover, listings of interfaith initiatives in these resolutions did not include any reference to IIFWP or UPF-sponsored conferences and activities.

Analysis

UPF has grounded its renewal proposals in a belief that the UN needs to incorporate the wisdom of the world’s faith traditions into its deliberations and structure. It promotes the “equalization of life” whereby “great powers” gave “minor powers” equal rights and duties and whereby developed countries liberated underdeveloped countries from poverty. It also upholds peaceful methods of conflict resolution, principles of good governance, and “the ideal of the family.” However, the core idea is interreligious participation in global governance. This was clear, readily understood, and an ideological strength. As Rev. Moon stated,

"Although secular authorities rule most human societies, religion lies at the heart of most national and cultural identities. In fact, religious faith and devotion have far greater importance in most peoples' hearts than do political loyalties."[17]

UPF personnel invested time, energy, and financial resources to host assemblies, convocations, symposia, and summits to communicate these ideas. Philippine House Speaker Jose de Venecia invested similar effort on behalf of an interreligious council at the UN and to mobilize others. The receptivity of the UN General Assembly to resolutions that affirmed interfaith cooperation as a necessary component to peace activity suggested that the core idea had broad-based appeal.

Religion has been a key missing factor in UN deliberations, particularly as numerous conflicting parties and even terrorists invoke religious tenets in the post-cold war context. The Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders, “a high-profile and much-publicized interfaith gathering of some 1,000 representatives and numerous unofficial observers from many of the world’s religions funded by CNN-founder Ted Turner just prior to UN’s own Millennium Summit of heads of state and government” in 2000, echoed many of the same sentiments. In fact, its secretary-general called for establishment of a “council of religious and spiritual advisers to the UN."[18]

Recommendations for moving forward

Call attention to religion as a “missing dimension” of UN statecraft, and NGOs as effective vehicles to advance its programs. Draw upon religious ideals which lie at the heart of most national and cultural identities and generate significant motivational force.

Give the ideas systematic elaboration and intellectual grounding by forming a think-tank or “peace academy.” Affirm religious universalism and avoid privileging particularistic beliefs or rituals. Utilize a “universal or religious secondary language” and develop more competency in translating core theological concepts into language suitable for public discourse and debate.

Encourage the United Nations to incorporate the wisdom of the world’s faith traditions into its deliberations and structure and pursue “equalization” whereby developed countries raise the political and economic standards of lesser-developed countries. In addition, promote peaceful methods of conflict resolution, principles of good governance, and “the ideal of the family.”

Maintain a diversified network of NGOs, interact with societal elites, co-sponsor meetings with UN-member delegations, and lobby for its core proposals. Build familial-communal dimensions of a “culture of peace,” facilitate a sense of belongingness, and develop affective bonds. Harmonize the charismatic-communal and routinized-bureaucratic impulses, balancing immediate demands with longer-term planning, research and development of expertise.

Clarify rules of procedure and ensure the participation of diverse leaders. Diversify leadership, introducing fresh perspectives and avoiding the concentration of power into a single extended social network. Such people should embody integrity and reliability, practical knowledge and skill, and the virtues of patience and perseverance.

This summary is indebted to an essay in The Journal of Unification Studies, Vol. 9, 2008, by Dr. Michael Mickler, Professor, UTS Interfaith Seminary, New York, USA.

[1] Sun Myung Moon, “Renewing the United Nations to Build Lasting Peace,” in Renewing the United Nations and Building a Culture of Peace, A Report from Assembly 2000 (NY: Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace, 2000), 68, 71.

[2] Moon, “Reforming the United Nations and Organizations for Peace,” in The Reunification of Korea and World Peace (Seoul: Sung Hwa Publishing, 2002)

[3] Moon, “Renewing the United Nations to Build Lasting Peace,” 67.

[4] Ibid., 66.

[5] Moon, “Reforming the United Nations and Organizations for Peace,” 172.

[6] Ibid., 167, 169.

[7] Ibid., 172-73.

[8] Moon, “Renewing the United Nations to Build Lasting Peace,” 66-68.

[9] Jose de Venecia, “The Philippine Proposal for an Interreligious Council at the UN,” in The World at a Turning Point: A Global Vision of Peace and Good Governance (Tarrytown, NY: IIFWP, 2004), 372.

[10] Ibid., 371-72.

[11] Cited in Karen Smith. “The Spiritual Dimension of World Order and the Renewal of the United Nations,” in The World at a Turning Point, 59-60.

[12] de Venecia, “The Philippine Proposal for an Interreligious Council at the UN,” 372-73.

[13] Karen Smith, “The Spiritual Dimension of World Order and the Renewal of the United Nations,” 60.

[14] “Press Release,” Mission News, Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations, NYPM-087-04, November 11, 2004.

[15] See Noli de Castro, “Statement,” UN High Level Conference on Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue for Peace: Partnership between Government and Civil Society, The Philippine Experience. http://www.tripartiteinterfaithforum.org/statements%202007/noli_de_castro.htm .

[16] Hilario Davide, “Message,” Informal Session on Interfaith Dialogue at the U.N., April 18, 2007. http://www.tripartiteinterfaithforum.org/statements%202007/message%20davide18%20April.htm.

[17] Moon, “Renewing the United Nations to Build Lasting Peace,” 67

[18] The secretary-general was Bawa Jain of the Interfaith Center of New York. He also requested that the UN “convene a UN summit of religious and spiritual leaders every ten years” and “create a department of religious affairs in the UN secretary-general’s office.” The summit of religious and spiritual leaders was originally suggested and funded by Ted Turner who reportedly told Kofi Annan, “If you want peace in the world, you should bring the religious leaders of the world to the UN and make them sign a commitment of peace.” See Religion Counts, Religion and Public Policy at the UN, 43-44.