Bush, others, support faith dialogue

Nov 14, 2008, 11:39 GMT

New York - Government leaders attending the UN General Assembly debate on religion and peace on Thursday pledged respect for all faiths because they are convinced it can lead to the resolution of conflict.

The 192-nation assembly adopted a declaration reiterating strong support for all faiths while warning that extremism has intensified, causing communal strife and polarizing societies.

It paid tribute to Saudi King Abdullah, who had pushed for the holding of the assembly debate on religion and peace.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal appeared jointly to read the declaration, which reaffirmed UN members' 'rejection of the use of religion in the killing of innocent people and acts of terrorism and violence.'

The declaration called for building a 'harmonious world' in which various religions and cultures can co-exist.

'The challenge now is to go beyond powerful positive words we have heard these past two days,' Ban said. 'I pledge my full support to these efforts.'

The declaration called for setting up a committee on interfaith dialgue in order to implement the pledges made in the debate by about 80 government delegations, some headed by kings and princes, presidents and prime ministers.

US President George W Bush, appearing most likely for the last time before the 192-nation assembly, urged UN governments to include religion in their work and help spread democracy around the world.

In his final days as the top but not the most admired US leader, Bush repeated his belief in bringing democracy to other countries - including by using military force to invade Iraq in March, 2003.

Bush noted that the United States had 60 years ago spearheaded discussion that resulted in the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. That US delegation was led by the late first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

'Today, the United States is carrying on that noble tradition by making religious liberty a central element of our foreign policy,' he said in an address to the UN assembly session on the Culture of Peace.

'We strongly encourage nations to understand that religious freedom is the foundation of a healthy and hopeful society,' he said. 'We are not afraid to stand with religious dissidents and believers who practice their faith even where it is unwelcome.'

'And the best way to safeguard religious freedom is to aid the rise of democracy,' he said.

The assembly concluded the two-day debate with the adoption of the declaration that renewed the solemn commitment of all states to fulfil and promote 'universal respect for, and observance and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all' as specified by the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The declaration encourages a dialogue among the media of all cultures and civilizations and emphasizes the right to freedom of expression for everyone.

The assembly session was called to debate how best to use values deriving from various religions and cultures to help resolve political and armed conflicts. The session was strongly pushed by Saudi King Abdullah, who broke the barrier between Islam and Catholicism by meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in November 2007.

King Abdullah was praised by the kings of Jordan and Bahrain, emirs, the presidents of Israel, Pakistan, Afghanistan and most of the 80 government delegations that attended the two-day conference at UN headquarters in New York.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said King Abdullah brought about change rather than just talking about it in his efforts to advance interfaith dialogue among governments.

But Zardari also urged the king to make another step by giving Saudi women more freedom following the construction of a university for women in Saudi Arabia.

'This may surely be considered as a historic milestone for women empowerment in the kingdom and the Muslim world,' Zardari said.

Some 80 government delegations attended the debate, with close to 30 of them headed by kings, presidents and prime ministers.

Germany's Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor Hermann Groehe repeated what other delegations repeatedly said - that all people must enjoy freedom of religion.

'The principle of freedom and equality forbid people of a certain faith or culture from arbitrarily limiting the freedom of those who think differently,' Groehe said.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government was part of the movement to spread the dialogue among civilizations, said the UN debate indicated a 'heightened sensitivity' of the international community on issues of religion and peace.

Erdogan pointed out that a pressing issue concerns the compatibility of freedom of expression and respect for religious beliefs. He called for exercising that freedom responsibly in order to reinforce the culture of tolerance and coexistence.