It is my privilege and honor to be here today.

The UPF is proud to be a supporter and civil society partner to the UN and member states, and we are a proud to be a consultative affiliate of ECOSOC.

On this day, May 18, the UPF concludes a World Peace Tour that began in Japan at the end of February. Over the past 10 weeks, we have convened programs on six continents, in more than 70 nations, addressing the theme of “A New Vision for Peace in the 21st Century: One Family Under God.”

Dr. Hyun Jin Moon prepared the keynote address for this series. I want to quote a passage from the speech he delivered here at the UN. After acknowledging the groundbreaking proposal his father, Rev. Sun Myung Moon, delivered here at the UN in 2000, calling for an interreligious council at the UN, Dr. Moon went on to say:

Although all religions agree that marriage and family are the fundamental building blocks of any society, the reality is that the US and all other nations are in danger of losing these most valuable traditions and institutions.

Divorce and family breakdown are at an all time high. Sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise, even among the youngest teenagers. Violence and crime are on the rise, and many say they have little hope of securing dignified, meaningful jobs to support their future families.

The social and economic cost of this breakdown of the family is staggering.  The breakdown of the family contributes directly to poverty, disease, child mortality and is possibly the single most significant obstacle to the fulfillment of the UN MDGs. If we are to realize “One Family Under God” we must invest “one family at a time.”

We must return to the original ideal and dream of the founders of the UN, to create one human family that will never know the scourge of war again.

In addition to its World Peace Tour, the UPF has also called for all its chapters to celebrate the International Day of Families. You have seen slides from some of the programs convened in many parts of the world.

There is no more important task that to work to strengthen the institution whereby we not only reproduce the human species but educate, nurture, and train the members of our species to be truly human, that is, beings who aspire to and achieve the highest levels of moral, spiritual, and professional excellence.

Sons and daughters who are the peacebuilders the world needs.

Before any human being enters a classroom, or a place of work, or before they enter a mosque, synagogue, temple or church, they are nurtured by a mother and a father who teach them what the world is really like.

• The family is the school of love.
• The family is the school of peace.
• The family is the first seminary or theological school.
• The family is the first school of citizenship.

In UPF’s “Declaration on Families” we underscore 5 recommendations:

1. The family is the central building block of society and the instrument of reconciliation and peace.
2. The family is the universal school of love and ethics.
3. Marriage and family are the basis of human development.
4. We must focus on strengthening the family if we are to build a world of lasting peace and prosperity for all.
5. Global solidarity, as One Family under God, is  built one family at a time; we all share a common heritage, deriving from one common origin.

Before we are Christians or Jews, Muslims or Hindus, Sikh or Jain, Buddhist or Baha'i, we are sons and daughters of God. Before we are Chinese or Nigerian, American or Japanese, German or Indonesian, Brazilian or Russian, we are sons and daughters of God.

We are all members of one human family under God.

If we can grasp this essential truth, then we can begin to see hope to resolve the conflicts in the Middle East, in Israel and Palestine, in Kenya, in South Asia or the South Caucasus, on the Korean Peninsula, the Taiwan Strait, or Mindanao.

Thank you for attending this program today. Let us work together to build a world of lasting peace, beginning with ourselves and with our own families.