WCRC General Secretary thanks God for Religions for Peace

The General Secretary of WCRC, Setri Nyomi, gives thanks to God for the work of Religions for Peace which has just ended its Assembly in Vienna, Austria. The Assembly was held from November 20 to 22 under the theme “Welcoming the Other – A Multi-Religious Vision for Peace”. More than six hundred religious leaders gathered in Vienna for this Assembly.

Religions for Peace, the world’s largest multi‐religious organisation, includes Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Indigenous, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Shinto, Taoist and Zoroastrian religious leaders.

Setri Nyomi, who also served as one of the co-presidents of Religions for Peace from 1999 until this Assembly, indicated that welcoming the other – no matter their religion, race or gender – is an imperative which is inherent in most of the world’s religions. Nyomi concluded his term as a co-president and was elected as one of the honorary presidents.

The Vienna Declaration which was issued at the end of the Assembly called on religious leaders and people of faith, as well as governments, international organisations and civil society and all people of good will to do everything possible in their spheres to create a welcoming atmosphere in which justice and respect for human rights lead to comprehensive well-being of all reign.

The Vienna Declaration concludes: “We, the Delegates of the 9^th World Assembly of Religions for Peace, are united in our commitment to resist threats to Peace that

take the form of hostility toward the other, and to take positive action to welcome the other by promoting the true flourishing of all human beings. These dual commitments and corresponding calls to action express our multi‐religious vision of Peace.”

Setri Nyomi chaired all the business plenary sessions of the Assembly.  The business sessions provided space for discussions and actions on the Vienna Declaration, elections of the leadership of Religions for Peace and other issues.

On violence against women, Setri Nyomi called on leaders and people of faith to speak out. “Religious communities need to assess their own structures and practices to expose any complicity in violence against women in any form” he said, adding that “Equally, silence in the face of gender-based violence when religious leaders must speak out is wrong”. The WCRC General Secretary was speaking on a panel during a special session on “Restoring Dignity:  Ending Violence against Women”. The main speaker on the panel was Her Excellency, Ms. Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary General of United Nations Women. The other panellists were

Ms. Ravinder Kaur Nijjar, a co-chairperson of Religions for Peace European Women of Faith Network and Venerable Dr. Chung Ohun Lee of the Supreme Council of Won Buddhism in South Korea.

“It is my hope that as we give thanks to God for such a large gathering of religious leaders, we can also be inspired to put into action the common commitments to contribute to peace-building in the world” Nyomi commented.