2011 - UN Secretary-General's report: Intercultural, interreligious and intercivilizational dialogue

2011 - First Week of February designated World Interfaith Harmony Week (UN General Assembly resolution 65/5)

2010 - UN International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures

2009 - UN International Year of Reconciliation

2008 - World Conference on Dialogue in Madrid proposed that the UN create an interreligious council.

2007 & 2008 - High-Level Dialogues on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace in the General Assembly (2007, 2008)

2008 - Focal Point created in ECOSOC for interreligious, intercultural and intercivilizational dialogue and cooperation efforts

2006 - Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace began hosting joint meetings in New York of staff from UN missions, UN offices, and NGOs.

2005 - Committee of Religious NGOs formed at the UN

2004 - UN NGO Committee on Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns began hosting a Week of Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns every fall at the UN.

UN General Assembly Resolutions

Promotion of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding and Cooperation for Peace, GA 66/226, adopted 23 December 2011

Promotion of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding, and Cooperation for Peace, GA 65/138, adopted 16 December 2010

Promotion of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding, and Cooperation for Peace, GA 64/81, adopted 7 December 2009

Promotion of Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, Understanding, and Cooperation for Peace, GA 60/10, adopted 3 November 2005

Promotion of Interreligious Dialogue, GA 59/23, adopted 11 November 2004

Promotion of Religious and Cultural Understanding, Harmony, and Cooperation, GA 58/128, adopted 19 December 2003

Peace can be fully accomplished only when the wisdom and efforts of religious leaders, who represent the internal concerns of the mind and conscience, work cooperatively and respectfully with government officials who have much practical wisdom and worldly experience. UPF advocates for the establishment of an interreligious council at the UN as well as on national and local levels to provide structures for this to take place.

Goals:

• Develop structures that will draw on the wisdom and capacities of religious traditions to address global problems.
• Build networks of interfaith peacebuilders who can serve in such structures.

Methods:

• Consultations about the proposal have been convened by UPF chapters

See reports of consultations in Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Canada, Georgia, Ghana, India, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, the UK, and the US.

Read also statements of support by:

• Elder statesmen
• Senior diplomats
• Members of parliament and government officials
• NGO leaders
• Religious thinkers
• Scholars

UPF chapters collaborate with national interreligious councils that can be models for a potential interreligious council at the UN.

See also an intriguing discussion in Vienna, Austria about "New Religious Pluralism" leading up to the February 2013 Alliance of Civilizations forum in Vienna on "Responsible Leadership in Diversity and Dialogue."

Backgrounders:

• Call for an Interreligious Council at the United Nations [English, Español, Italiano]
• PowerPoint overview of the proposal [English, Español, Français]
• UPF's Statement on Interreligious Dialogue
• References to religion and spirituality in early UN documents and by UN Secretaries-General

UPF invites contributions on this topic for its scholarly interfaith journal Dialogue & Alliance. For more information email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .