Newsarchive
(27.08.2010) The Global Youth Network of Religions for Peace is advancing a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution that asks member states to cut military spending by 10% and redirect those funds toward achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This reflects an important and necessary progression from existing UNGA resolutions on ‘disarmament and development’ that are less specific in their demands. The resolution is the political counterpart to a petition being circulated via the Religions for Peace Global Youth Network and their Arms Down! Campaign for Shared Security. Like the resolution, the petition calls on governments to reduce their military spending and re-allocate those funds toward development-related spending. Over four point seven million people have signed the petition, indicating its success as a tool for grassroots mobilisation and outreach. More
(19.07.2010) Religious Leaders in Uganda, members of the Religions for Peace Interreligious Council of Uganda, have reacted strongly to the bombs that killed more than 70 people in the country’s capital Kampala on 11 July and which have been linked to the ongoing conflict in Somalia. In a statement on 14 July the most senior religious leaders of the country, including Sheikh Ramadhan Shaban Mubajje, Mufti of Uganda; The Most Revd Henry Luke Orombi, Archbishop of the Church of Uganda; and The Most Rev Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kampala condemned the bombing and urged the government to do everything in their power to bring the perpetrators to book More
(05.07.2010) European Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace Moderator, Bishop Gunnar Stålsett has just ended his four-day visit to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. During his visit he met with the interim president and participated in the inauguration ceremony together with some 2000 people from inside and outside Kyrgyzstan. More
(30.06.2010) European Council of Religious Leaders Moderator, Bishop Gunnar Stålsett, will for the next four days be visiting Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. It is the interim president Rosa Otunbayeva who has invited Bishop Stålsett. The ECRL Moderator will have meetings with the interim government and the acting president as well as with the religious leaders in the country and representatives from civil society. More
(28.06.2010) Representatives of 20 organisitions who belong within the Religions for Peace European Interreligious Youth Network gathered in central Paris 25 to 27 June for a summit of the network. The young leaders, who represented Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh organisations, met under the headline “Arms Down! Disarm for Development” which is also the title of a global Religions for Peace advocacy campaign initiated by its youth groups. The Arms Down! campaign has collected incredible 3 million signatures since its launch in November 2009. More
(24.06.2010) “Tolerance” and “interreligious dialogue” were words used frequently during a three hour debate of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Wedesday 23rd June on Islam, Islamism and Islamophobia. But even more frequently the European parliamentarians talked about burkas and niqabs. The resolution which was approved unanimously at the end of the session, warned against general prohibition of women’s veils, which is being discussed in a number of European countries, but admitted that in certain situations veils may be proscribed for security reasons. The resolution also called on Switzerland to repeal its ban on minarets. More
(24.06.2010) As part of religious leaders' effort to exercise stronger, more visible and practical leadership in response to the HIV pandemic, some 37 high level religious leaders have addressed the heads of the G8 states; Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and United States. ECRL Moderator Bishop Gunnar Stålsett and ECRL member Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh are among the signatories together with Religions for Peace Co-Presidents The Most Rev. John Onaiyekan, RC Archbishop of Abuja, and Rabbi David Rosen, The Chief Rabbinate of Israel’s Honorary Advisor on Interreligious Affairs. More
(03.06.2010) The 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was held in May 2010 at UN Headquarters in New York. The final declaration was agreed by the 189 member states after comprehensive talks on the last day of the conference. The NPT is acknowledged as the cornerstone of global disarmament efforts and is even strengthened after the unanimously agreed final declaration. The document calls for the United Nations secretary general to organise a meeting of Middle East states in 2012 to agree to the creation of a "zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction". "All eyes the world over are watching us," said conference president Libran Cabactulan, of the Philippines, as the final text was approved. More than 2000 representatives of NGOs and faith groups including several Religions for Peace representatives were present during the month-long conference and Religions for Peace organised several events. More
(30.05.2010) The governing board of Religions for Peace Europe – the network of national chapters and interreligious councils within the Religions for Peace movement – met in Paris on 28 to 30 May. The governing board shared information on the work of Religions for Peace across the European continent and discussed future strategies and pan-European projects. On Friday 28 May the governing board members were guests at a service and Sabbath meal at the synagogue of the Mouvement Juif Liberal de France in central Paris and was welcomed by their Rabbi Delphine Horvilleur.
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(20.05.2010) On Tuesday 18 May the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, in collaboration with the European Council of Religious Leaders, hosted a seminar at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on “Religions and the Building of Peace: Fostering Intercultural and Interreligious Cooperation and Action for a Culture of Peace.” The meeting was attended by religious representatives, experts and members of UN delegations in Geneva. More
(07.05.2010) Religious leaders in Sweden have launched a national interreligious council at a meeting in Uppsala on 4 May.
The council is a fruit of a process initiated by Church of Sweden Archbishop Anders Wejryd, who is also a World Council of Religions for Peace Co-President.
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(05.05.2010) An international conference on “Religious Freedom in Democratic Societies” organised by Spain, which currently holds the EU presidency, together with the Alliance of Civilizations, in its final recommendations pointed to interreligious councils on local, national and international levels as one important way of promoting religious freedom in Europe. The conference met in Cordoba, Spain, on 2 to 4 May and gathered representatives from EU institutions, member states’ governments and experts. More
(28.04.2010) On Wednesday 28 April ECRL concluded its annual meeting in Istanbul and issued the Istanbul Declaration on Tolerance: Our Commitment to Justice, Equality and Sharing which also reflects the meeting’s main theme.
“Tolerance is an active recognition of diversity and means respecting the otherness of the other with whom we differ religiously, culturally, or otherwise, with compassion and benevolence. Tolerance does not mean unconditional approval of the ideas of others nor of the way they live their lives. Tolerance means respecting the other’s human rights, but not necessarily sharing his or her viewpoints.”
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(26.04.2010) The European Council of Religious Leaders - Religions for Peace annual meeting opened in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday 26 April 2010. The meeting lasts until Wednesday and the main theme is “At the Crossroads: Justice, Equality and Sharing as a Basis for Cultures of Peace”.
Dr A Hadi Adanali, the adviser to the Turkish Prime Minister on intercultural affairs, gave the key note address in the opening session of the meeting. He presented the Turkish government’s initiatives linked to the Alliance of Civilisation process; “The first decade of the 21st century has seen a growing recognition of the role of religion in the meeting of cultures,” he said, and also emphasised the necessity in our time for religious leaders to understand and interact with youth culture.
In his report to the council, ECRL Moderator Bishop Gunnar Stålsett, placed the work of the council within the context or present day challenges for religions in Europe:
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(26.04.2010) In a session during the council meeting in Istanbul on 26 April 2010 the Executive Committee of the European Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace (ECRL) appointed Mr. Stein Villumstad as a new General Secretary from 1. January 2011. Mr. Villumstad is currently Deputy Secretary General of Religions for Peace International. “It is with honour and humility I accept the appointment as the new General Secretary of ECRL. Since its inception ECRL has proven its importance in promoting peace and social cohesion in Europe. I will use my experience from a global Religions for Peace perspective to the best of my ability to further promote the vision of ECRL,” said Mr. Villumstad who is present at the ECRL meeting.
ECRL Moderator, Bishop Gunnar Stålsett said: ”With the appointment of Mr. Stein Villumstad ECRL is blessed with an exceptionally skilled person with broad experience including the experience from development and church work with Norwegian Church Aid and global interreligious work with Religions for Peace International.”
Mr. Villumstad will succeed Revd Vebjørn L. Horsfjord who will leave ECRL 30 November 2010 to take up a position as a research fellow in theology at the University of Oslo. In the council meeting in Istanbul members expressed their gratitude to Revd Horsfjord for his dedicated service to ECRL over the last four years.
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(16.04.2010) The European Council of Religious Leaders - Religions for Peace will meet for their annual meeting on 26 - 28 April 2010 in Istanbul, Turkey. The meeting is generously hosted by ECRL member HE Prof. Dr Ali Bardakoglu, President of Religious Affairs in Turkey.
The main theme of the council meeting will be: “At the Crossroads: Justice, Equality and Sharing as a Basis for Cultures of Peace”, and the council will address the issue of minorities’ situation in Europe including the banning of minarets in Switzerland November 2009.
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(25.03.2010) (NEW YORK, 19 March 2010)—Dr. William F. Vendley, Secretary General of Religions for Peace, the largest and most representative global multi-religious coalition, called for partnerships between governments and religious bodies to stop war, fight poverty, and protect the earth.
Dr. Vendley spoke at the first Special Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial (NAM) Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and Development held on 16–18 March 2010 in Manila, the Philippines. There are 118 NAM member countries. More than 100 Foreign Ministers attended the three-day inter-faith dialogue hosted by the Philippine government.
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(23.03.2010) Religious leaders from every continent and many of the world's faiths commit to stronger, more collaborative efforts to eliminate stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.
Den Dolder, The Netherlands, 23 March 2010 – High level religious and spiritual leaders from many of the world’s major religions pledged “stronger, more visible and practical leadership in the response to HIV” as the first global High Level Summit of Religious Leaders on HIV concluded today in The Netherlands.
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(21.03.2010) ECRL Moderator, Bishop Gunnar Stålsett and ECRL Member Bhai Sahib Dr Mohinder Singh will participate in the first-ever Summit of High Level Religious Leaders to generate greater leadership from religious leaders of many of the world’s faiths in the global AIDS response. Bishop Stålsett who has been part of the Steering Committee for the Summit says: “The fight against HIV and AIDS is of great concern to every person of good will. The fight needs leadership and responsible religious leaders can provide such leadership together with leaders from other sectors: political, business, media, civil society and academia.” More
(10.03.2010) The Religions for Peace Finnish Women of Faith Network was launched on the International Women´s Day, 8 March 2010.
The working group consists of women from ten different faiths and denominations and is the first interreligious women’s group in Scandinavia promoting social cohesion: peaceful and just communities with the interfaith dialogue and cooperation.
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