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GA Leader: Millennium World Peace Summit Is "Timely and Right"
A United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) leader Monday said that the convocation of the "Millennium World Peace Summit" at the United Nations headquarters in New York is "both timely and right."
The summit, which has attracted more than 1,000 religious leaders from the world's major religious communities, includes seven top gurus from China's five major faith disciplines, who have gathered here to forge partnerships of peace with the United Nations and each other.
The four-day summit is expected to focus on four broad sets of issues: conflict transformation, elimination of poverty, forgiveness and reconciliation, and preservation and restoration of environment.
Arthur Mbanefo, vice-president of the UNGA, told the representatives at the summit's opening ceremony, "Your presence here today is indeed a powerful testimony of your desire and commitment to see peace prevail in all corners of the world."
"It is right because it takes place at a moment in history. Problems connected with religious, cultural and ethnic intolerance as well as racism, xenophobia and other forms of bigotry are rapidly increasing," said Mbanefo who is also the Nigerian permanent representative to the United Nations.
"The summit is appropriate in the sense that the international community at large is involved in a serious dialogue among religious personalities and civilizations with a view to building bridges across cultural, ethnic and religious divides," he said. "The tremendous weight of religion and its positive impact must be brought to bear on the search for holistic solutions to peace, cooperation and development."
It is also timely because the summit takes place at the beginning of a new era and coincides with the "Millennium Summit of the United Nations" which is scheduled for September 6-8, he said.
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