To see the Religions for Peace general video (11 mins) shown at the Opening Ceremony, click here . . .

To see World Assembly Video (7 mins)
shown at the Closing Ceremony, click here . . .

Religions for Peace convened its Eighth World Assembly in Kyoto, Japan, 26-29 August 2006. More than 800 religious leaders from nearly a hundred countries developed concrete strategies to confront violence in their own communities. Assembly delegates included Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Shinto, Zoroastrian and Indigenous leaders. They came from the Religions for Peace network of more than seventy national and regional affiliated inter-religious councils and groups. Kyoto was the site of the first World Assembly of Religions for Peace in 1970.

HIGHLIGHTS
Confront Violence. Delegates pledged “to confront violence within our own communities whenever religion is misused as a justification or excuse for violence.” A key aspect was to promote the notion of “shared security” in which all sectors of every society acknowledge common vulnerabilities and assume collective responsibility to address them. Twenty steps [see "Statement - Kyoto Declaration" below] were outlined for religious leaders, governments, international organizations, and businesses to address violence and promote shared security through advocacy, education, and partnerships.

Iraqi press conferenceEstablish Unity—Iraq, Sri Lanka, Sudan. The Assembly provided safe haven for representatives from some of the world’s most troubled areas to meet privately and speak frankly about the sectarian conflict in their nations. In particular, religious leaders from Iraq publicly proclaimed, “Violence is not accepted by anyone here today—Shi’ite, Sunni, Kurd, Christian. The leaders here without exception are seriously for peace and for Iraq to be secure and independent.” Also conducting critical engagements were members of the Middle East and Israeli/Palestine delegations who deepened their ongoing discussions and forged grounds on which to convene again.

Address Poverty. A toolkit was launched to help religious communities work toward the UN Millennium Development Goals: eradicating extreme poverty, achieving universal primary education, promoting gender equality, reducing child mortality and hunger, and combating HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Available in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic, the toolkit is designed to assist religious communities in raising awareness, advocating, training, and conducting outreach to achieve the MDGs by 2015.

Youth AssemblyEmpower Women and Youth. More than 400 participants from sixty-five countries concluded the Religions for Peace Women’s Assembly, 24-25 August, by adopting a Declaration: “Women of faith make available strength and hope when all seems hopeless.” The Religions for Peace Youth Assembly, 21–24 August, produced its own Declaration, proclaiming: “We choose hope because that is the only way forward.” [See below for both declarations.] In addition, World Assembly delegates endorsed the Declaration on Violence against Children, which commits religious communities to confront violence against children and protect children in their communities, and awarded the inaugural Greeley Prize to the Women’s Desk of the Inter-religious Council in Liberia, a network that promotes religious tolerance, rallies to reduce gender and sexual violence, increases awareness of HIV/AIDS, and advocates for children. The Assembly provided an incomparable means for both women and youth to build relationships, share experiences, and forge achievable plans of action in the years to come.

Please See:

Statement - Kyoto Declaration
Statement - Women's Declaration
Statement - Youth Assembly Declaration

Dr. Vendley's Opening Ceremony Speech
Statement - PM Junichiro Koizumi
Statement - HE Mohammad Khatami
Statement - HB Patriarch Michel Sabbah
Statement - UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

Women's Assembly Keynote Address - Ann Veneman
Women's Assembly Statement - Katherine Marshall
Women's Assembly Statement - Ela Gandhi
Women's Assembly Report

Commission Reports - Conflict Transformation, Peacebuilding, and Sustainable Development

Statement - Sudan
Statement - Iraq
Statement - Sri Lanka
Statement - Six-Party Talks

Daily Newsletter - Eighth World Assembly

Press Release - World Assembly Closing
Press Release - Declaration on Violence Against Children
Press Release - World Assembly Opening
Press Release - Millennium Campaign
Eighth World Assembly 2006 Media Kit

Kofi Annan's Message to Religions for Peace
Former child soldier Ishmael Beah's Youth Assembly Web log