Resolutions Adopted By The General Assembly Of The United Nations Relative To The Harmony And Peace Among World Religions

[ksunipar]

KSUNIPAR Series 1

Resolutions Adopted By The General Assembly Of

The United Nations

Relative To The Harmony And Peace Among World Religions

Forward

This booklet contains a total of ten selected resolutions adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations during 1981-2010 relative, partly or wholly, to the imperativeness of the harmony and peace among the world great religions. One adopted only last year (A/RES/65/5) concerned a proclamation of an "Interfaith Harmony Week" to be celebrated every year. It is expected that the General Assembly would, hopefully, be pleased to adopt this fall a Decade Plan of concerted detailed activities to promote peace and harmony in interreligious relations. We appreciate that the General Assembly's persistent expression‎ is intricately linked to the importance of interfaith harmony to world peace.

The General Assembly is the highest deliberative organ in the United Nations to act on important agendas sponsored by member States and numerous organizations of the United Nations System. While its resolutions are not always binding on the members or on the organizations, they carry important moral and political commitments of the day. All its resolutions are translated into English, French, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Arabic and form part of official documents of the United Nations. This booklet, therefore, is an unofficial Korean version for public consumption in Korea.

Interreligious harmony is everyone's ardent yearning. In keeping with its terms of reference, the General Assembly continues to demonstrate closely and stridently how religions can contribute to the happiness of mankind. This booklet is intended to help disseminate UN's intent to religious leaders in Korea and the public at large and to be of assistance in the implementation of the programs on the ground to secure peace and cooperation among the religions. Our foreign friends can also conveniently peruse the selective resolutions in original English. The translation was accomplished competently by a few professional volunteers.

The full realization of harmony and peace among religion is not a task to pass on the next generation. Inter-State peace cannot be sustained without interfaith peace, and without meaningful dialogues among religions, societal and individual peace will remain only as a mirage. Korea is fortunate to have had a number of treasured pioneers who steadfastly devoted to the realization of interfaith peace in the past. It is through their indefatigable endeavor that Korea, a country of pluralistic religions, remains comparatively peaceful. We offer to them our full measures of gratitude and respect, and express the hope that we will be as unrelenting as they have been in carrying out the tasks ahead of us.

We believe that structured and continuing interfaith dialogues that have been taking place in Korea among the religions, albeit limited, must be encouraged to continue and we as a non-Governmental organization pledge our part to help strengthen them.

We pray this booklet will help re-energize efforts towards social actions for a lasting peace among religions in Korea and in other countries similarly placed as Korea. We also wish to see a culture firmly established worldwide that all religions are blessings to mankind and differences among them are a beauty to behold. All religions crave for peace. If interfaith strife is allowed to extend to a conflict situation, it is tantamount to defiling one's own religion and violating fundamental basic human rights of the citizens concerned.

The Korea Society for United Nations Initiatives for Peace among Religions (KSUNIPAR) which has published this booklet is a newly established non-governmental and non-religious organization in Korea. Its primary objective is to render full support to the United Nations in facilitating its programs of interfaith harmony on global basis.

August -, 2011

Yoon-Yul Kim

Chairman, Korea Society for United Nations Initiatives for Peace among Religions (KSUNIPAR)

and

Joon Kwak

Steering Conmittee, KSUNIPAR