Religious leaders
Fostering child rights amid a respect for diversity
Through a joint declaration signed in April 2014, faith leaders from Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and Hinduism expressed their unequivocal commitment to the realization of children’s rights and the building of a tolerant society respectful of religious and ethnic diversity.
Since then, the religious leaders have worked in partnership with UNICEF to promote inter-religious dialogue, working to build peace and social cohesion for the sake of children.
Myanmar Interfaith for Children is an inter-religious platform formed in 2014 through the partnership of the Ratana Metta organization and UNICEF, and venerable leaders of four main religions in Myanmar.
In 2015, religious leaders put out a joint statement through the media calling on the public and political parties to take the opportunity of the Myanmar’s historic 2015 election to make new commitments for every child in the country.
In 2016, at a Prayer event ahead of the 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference, religious leaders called for children to be put at the centre of the peace talks. Directly after the peace conference, members of Myanmar Interfaith for Children met with the UN Secretary General at the time, Ban Ki Moon, to talk about peace and social cohesion and key concerns for children in Myanmar.
The year 2017 saw the production of a short video in which the religious leaders called for peace and social cohesion for the sake of children, which was disseminated widely on social media ahead of the second Panglong national peace conference.
