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Press ReleaseReligions For Peace Brings Multi-Religious Perspective to Global Movement for Children, Upcoming U.N. Special SessionUNICEF, Religions for Peace Note Religious Communities' Key Role in Promoting, Ensuring Children's RightsNEW YORK, 14 May -The world's religious communities must assume a key role in promoting children's rights and taking action to ensure that all of the world's children are able to achieve their full potential, Religions for Peace (the World Conference on Religion and Peace) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced today. The joint statement marked the conclusion of a meeting in preparation for Religions for Peace's participation in the U.N. Special Session on Children, scheduled for September 19-21. During that meeting, UNICEF and Religions for Peace also discussed the importance of religious communities in the "Global Movement for Children", a new campaign dedicated to building a massive constituency of people that support the right of all children to grow up in peace, health and dignity. Officials from UNICEF and Religions for Peace discussed four key issue areas during the meeting:
Each issue area relates to Religions for Peace's current work with religious communities worldwide. "Religions for Peace has been a strong partner with UNICEF over the years, and represents a constituency that is truly essential to our goals of ending the poverty, ill health, violence and discrimination that plague children the world over," said Carol Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director. "Religious communities are hard at work on issues like development, conflict resolution, and caring for children affected by HIV/AIDS, and it is important that their perspectives and experiences be heard during the Special Session." "As we all seek to strengthen our efforts on behalf of children through the Global Movement for Children, we welcome the world's religious communities as full participants and recognize their vital work to date. We all have a lot to learn from each other, and I look forward to that exchange," Bellamy said. Religions for Peace, the largest international coalition of religious communities dedicated to achieving peace worldwide, mobilizes and supports collaborative, multi-religious activities in more than 100 countries. Throughout its 30-year history it has partnered with UNICEF and other child-focused agencies on international initiatives and conferences. In conjunction with the 1990 U.N. World Summit on Children and the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child-whose anniversary is marked by this year's Special Session-Religions for Peace convened a conference of religious leaders, "The World's Religions for the World's Children." "The world's religions all share a commitment to creating the best possible world for children," noted Religions for Peace Secretary General Dr. William F. Vendley. "In cities and villages on every continent, religious people are doing the hard work necessary to ensure that more of the world's children are clothed and fed adequately, receive the education to which they are entitled, and do not suffer from the ravages of war and disease. The world's religions also are reevaluating and changing some of their own practices with regard to children, in light of their core teachings on the inalienable dignity of all people. "Religions for Peace is pleased to have the opportunity to bring the perspectives and commitments of these billions of believers to the Special Session on Children, and is happy to join with UNICEF and its partners in the Global Movement for Children." *** For further information, contact Liza Barrie,
Media Chief, UNICEF New York, 212) 326-7593
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