RIYADH, Saudi Arabia,
Oct. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --
Attracting an extraordinary assembly of diverse representatives
from world religious and interreligious networks and communities,
the seventh annual G20 Interfaith Forum concluded its meetings on
Saturday after five days of sessions that addressed the COVID-19
emergencies, climate change, social, racial, and economic
disparities, environmental challenges, the preservation and
safeguarding of sacred sites including places of worship, and other
pressing issues. Originally intended to be held in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, host of the 2020 G20
Summit, the conference was conducted virtually in response to the
global pandemic. Attendance exceeded 2,000 participants from more
than 90 countries.
At the closing of the Forum, the organizing partners, including
the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID), the G20 Interfaith
Association, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
and Saudi Arabia's National
Committee for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue, issued a joint
statement calling for more robust representation at global policy
making tables for religious leaders and faith-based actors.
The full statement can be found HERE with an excerpt below:
The five-day Forum brought together prominent religious
leaders from across the faith spectrum, interreligious leaders, and
distinguished members of faith-based organizations as well as
government officials, senior officials of United Nations entities,
opinion formers and more than two thousand participants from all
over the world to debate a wide array of issues ranging from hate
speech to Covid-19 to gender parity and economic
displacement.
Recommendations considered during the Forum are grounded in
the experience and wisdom of the world of faith and the experience
and insights of religious actors and institutions. Proposals
address all aspects of the global human development endeavor as
framed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Priority recommendations will be submitted to the November G20
Leaders' Summit in Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia.
Given the relevance of the world of religion to policy
making, as demonstrated by the success of this year's G20
Interfaith Forum and the process leading up to it, a central
recommendation is that the time has come for formal recognition of
the interfaith platform of the G20 Interfaith Forum as an official
engagement group in future G20 Summits.
In closing remarks, H.E Faisal bin
Muaammar, Secretary General of KAICIID, called for greater
alignment between religious leaders and policy makers: "The G20
Interfaith Forum has demonstrated the vast breadth and scope of the
work carried out by religious actors. I would like to reiterate my
call to the current host of the G20 Summit, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the next host,
the Italian Republic, that full consideration be given to the
inclusion of the G20 Interfaith Forum as an official engagement
group of the G20 itself."
"The depth and scope of participation this year was truly
significant," said Professor Cole
Durham, President of the G20 Interfaith Forum Association
and Founding Director of the International Center for Law and
Religion Studies. "Never before have we seen a more urgent need for
religious communities to work with political leaders to address the
unprecedented and interrelated challenges facing the world
today."
The crisis posed by the COVID-19 pandemic played a central role
in the discussions at the Forum. H.E Miguel Ángel Moratinos, High
Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
(UNAOC) opened the Forum, observing that this "human crisis has
magnified the deep-rooted social and economic injustices and
inequalities that have plagued our societies for a long
time."
Speaker after speaker noted how COVID-19 had exacerbated
challenges across the entire spectrum of the UN Sustainable
Development Goals. H.E Mr Moratinos called for "a different
approach driven by unity and solidarity. But most of all by
compassion and humility." In this context he underlined the
need for "a convergence between faith actors and state actors."
Powerful testimony as to the omnipresent threat of COVID-19 was
provided by Dr Nezar Bahabri,
Director of the Internal Medicine Department at Dr. Soliman Fakeeh
Hospital (DSFH), Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia who, despite suffering from the virus as he spoke,
testified to the role of religious leaders in comforting believers
and helping them observe their religion amidst social restrictions
brought about by the pandemic.
Reflecting on the variety of issues addressed, Katherine Marshall of Georgetown University saw a strong common concern
shared by religious actors and policy experts. Said Marshall: "In
settings as diverse as concern for health care and meeting the
needs of refugees and those who have lost livelihoods during the
crisis, global assistance must go to those who have the greatest
needs. Religious communities can point to the most urgent needs and
act as watchdogs in implementation because this is their central
concern and mission." With remarkable examples of engagement of
religious actors in responding to the COVID-19 emergencies, she
urged that religious communities be fully engaged in the critical
process of testing and distributing vaccines against COVID-19 in a
rapid and equitable manner and assuring that their communities
appreciate the importance of vaccination as a path forward.
The G20 Interfaith Forum seeks global solutions through a
dynamic collaboration with leaders from multireligious networks and
political representatives. The discussions offered vivid testimony
to the need for the world's political leaders to include religious
actors in policymaking processes including notably the November 2020 G20 Leaders' Summit in Riyadh. This collaboration builds on shared
values of solidarity, coexistence and respect. Formal
recommendations resulting from the G20 Interfaith Forum
deliberations will be shared with G20 leadership in the coming
weeks.
The Forum is the culmination of a months-long consultation
process that included six regional meetings and task forces working
on critical topics. It involved religious leaders and
organizations, policy makers, experts and opinion formers from 70
countries on five continents – Africa, Asia,
the Arab Region, Latin America and
North America.
As the G20 Interfaith Forum Association looks toward its 2021
meetings in Italy, leaders are
recommending that the G20 Interfaith Forum become an official
Engagement Group. Independent from governments and comprised of
various stakeholders of the international community, the G20
Engagement Groups host meetings relevant to the G20 discussions and
currently include formal engagement groups for Business (B20),
Civil society (C20), Labor (L20), Science (S20), Think tanks (T20),
Urban affairs (U20), Women (W20) and Youth (Y20). They work with wide-ranging
organizations from G20 countries to develop policy recommendations
that are formally submitted to G20 leaders for consideration.
In his closing remarks, H.E Bin Muaammar called for a greater
recognition by policymakers of the potential of religious actors.
"Religious communities are promoting strong, inclusive, green,
sustainable economies, based on sharing and collaboration. They can
be instrumental in educating for equality, inclusion and respect.
They can advocate for considering the impact of actions on others.
They are already contributing to ending poverty, leaving no one
behind. They are advocating for access to basic services for all.
In partnership with policymakers and civil society, they can be,
and often are, powerful advocates for common citizenship, good
governance, tolerance and reconciliation."
Among leading figures joining him at the Forum were: Dr
Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary
General of the United Nations; HE Abdullatif Al-Sheikh, Minister of
Religious Affairs in the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia; HE Dr Mohamad
Al-Issa, Secretary General of the Muslim World League and
President of the Organization of Muslim Scholars; His All Holiness
Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome and
Ecumenical Patriarch; His Eminence Sheikh Dr Shawki Ibrahim Allam, the Grand Mufti of
Egypt and President of the General
Secretariat for Fatwa Authorities Worldwide; His Holiness
Catholicos Aram I Keshishian, Patriarch of the Catholicosate of the
Great House of Cilicia; His Eminence Cardinal Miguel Angel Ayuso
Guixot; President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue and a KAICIID Board Member; Chief Rabbi Pinchas Goldschmidt, President of the Conference
of European Rabbis and His Excellency Dr. Hassan Nadhem, Minister
of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities in Iraq.
Also contributing were: Rev Kosho
Niwano, President-designate of Rissho Kosei-kai and
Executive Committee Member of Religions for Peace and KAICIID Board
Member; Dr Kezevino Aram, President of Shanti Ashram and KAICIID
Board Member; Professor Azza Karam,
Secretary General of Religions for Peace; Elder David A Bednar,
Quorum of Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-day Saints; Rev
Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Prime Minister of Norway and Founder and Executive Chair of the
Oslo Center and Anthony Abbott; and
Former Prime Minister of Australia
and patron of Worldwide Support for Development.
About the G20 Process
The Group of Twenty, or the G20, is the premier forum for
international economic cooperation. The G20 brings together the
leaders of leading economies on Earth.
Collectively, G20 members represent around 80% of the world's
economic output, two-thirds of the global population and
three-quarters of international trade. Throughout the year,
representatives from G20 countries gather to discuss financial and
socioeconomic issues as well as broader humanitarian issues
targeted by the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
The G20 Leaders' Summit brings together world leaders to discuss
international economic cooperation and broader social concerns. The
participants in the G20 Summit are Heads of State or Government
from 19 countries and the European Union. In addition, leaders of
guest countries and representatives of invited regional and
international organizations participate in the Summit.
About the G20 Interfaith Forum
The G20 Interfaith Forum seeks global solutions by collaborating
with religious thought leaders and political representatives. It
builds on vital roles that religious institutions and beliefs play
in world affairs, reflecting a rich diversity of institutions,
ideas, and values. The membership includes interfaith and
intercultural organizations, religious leaders, scholars,
development and humanitarian entities, and business and civil
society actors.
Convened each year in the host country of the upcoming G20
Summit, the G20 Interfaith Forum offers an annual platform where a
network of religiously linked institutions and initiatives engage
on global agendas. The goal of the meetings is to contribute
meaningful insight and recommendations that respond to and help
shape the G20 Summit and thus global policy agendas. The 2020
G20 Interfaith Forum agenda builds on the UN Sustainable
Development Goals and additional issues of social cohesion, equity,
and sustainability that have been a central underlying theme for
the Forum from its inception.
For more information, please visit
www.g20interfaith.org and
https://www.kaiciid.org/
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SOURCE G20 Interfaith Forum