Introduction to the Interreligious and International peace council

On October 3, 2003, the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP) sponsored the Inaugural Assembly for the Interreligious and International Peace Council (IIPC). Approximately 1500 delegates were present at the main plenary session, representing more than 160 nations from a wide range of fields, including religion, politics, the media, academia, civil society and the arts. The IIPC was launched as an organization with the mission to bring about a durable and lasting peace.

The IIFWP has consistently sponsored programs that address current crises in today’s world, programs which advocate models of governance that build on the foundation of interreligious cooperation.

No institution dealing with world affairs will be effective in the long term if it does not affirm and manifest principles that recognize human nature primarily as spiritual and moral, not just as material and political.  For this reason the IIFWP emphasizes practices of living for the sake of others and working sacrificially to overcome barriers dividing people.  These core teachings, rooted in the vision of IIFWP’s Founder, Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon, form the basis for the programs of IIFWP and the activities of our Ambassadors for Peace worldwide.

On the foundation of the work of the IIFWP and other affiliated organizations that have dedicated themselves to promoting peace in the Middle East, the IIPC will further the effort to address the root causes of conflict and forge the path to a lasting peace in the Middle East, utilizing a wide range of programs and interventions that include peace conferences, symposia, high-level interreligious and international summits, grass roots people-to-people interaction, cooperation with a wide range of NGOs, peace rallies, interreligious pilgrimages, and service projects. 

We are at a turning point in history, a time that calls for vision, courage and leadership. Let us work together for peace.

IIPC: A “Peace UN” for our Global Family

At this critical time in history, there is need for serious examination of the existing institutions and practices of global governance. In particular, there is an urgent need for innovative models of good governance that illustrate the real potential and effectiveness of interreligious and international cooperation in addressing critical problems that face every society and nation in the world.

From its inception in 1999, the IIFWP has been advocating the establishment of an Interreligious Council as an organ of the United Nations. In this way the IIFWP works to support the United Nations, further strengthening it in its effort to solve critical global problems and, as the UN Charter explains, to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.” With this spirit, IIFWP is fully participating in two initiatives that are running parallel to each other, but on separate tracks.

With IIFWP’s full support, a resolution has been prepared by the Republic of the Philippines and presented to the 58th Session of the General Assembly. This resolution proposes the establishment of a mechanism within the United Nations that allows formal representation of men and women of great spiritual wisdom, insight, experience and knowledge. This is a challenging, exciting—and necessary—endeavor.

At the same time, IIFWP is moving forward with its plan, developed at the September 2002 Convocation in New York on the International Day of Peace, to establish an Interreligious and International Peace Council (IIPC). This council is being established to demonstrate that people of diverse racial, religious and cultural backgrounds can work together and contribute in significant ways to the solution of some of our world’s most serious problems.

The IIPC seeks to be a model of good governance grounded in principles of courage, unselfishness, and active volunteerism for peace. Therefore, the term “Peace UN” was coined to express this ideal. The IIPC affirms the highest spiritual and moral principles and applies them in the broadest possible way for the sake of peace and the overall well-being of humanity. Members of this Council uphold the following core principles, which are basic to the founding vision of the IIFWP:

There is an ultimate reality, God, who is our common parent as well as the primary source of love and goodness.

 Human beings, as well as the entire cosmos, have both physical and spiritual dimensions

 Peace is rooted in the principle and practice of living for the sake of others which calls us to overcome barriers of race, religion and nationality.

Both interreligious and international respect, harmony, and cooperation are necessary for peace to be achieved and maintained.

Motto

Building a global culture of heart  and a world of lasting peace

Mission Statement

The IIPC is a global movement pursuing lasting peace as the realization of harmony, cooperation and co-prosperity among all the members of the human family, through the application of universal moral and spiritual principles.

Objectives

Because a durable peace will only be realized as current thinking and practices are transformed by grounding our most fundamental perspectives in universal values, the IIPC first needs to develop a broad range of programs that underscore the need for:

1)  Interreligious cooperation among all faith traditions as a pre-requisite for world peace,

2) Good governance grounded in spiritual and moral principles that underscore unselfish service, global vision, and cooperation between religious and governmental leaders, and

3)  Human development that includes spiritual development and extends from the individual, to the family, community, society, nation and world.

Key Action Principles

 The primary principle and cardinal virtue for peace is unselfishness, namely, the capacity and strength to live for the sake of others.

The family is the school of true love and ethics, and is the foundation of the good society.

Peace begins with personal transformation in relationship to God or the ultimate reality, and extends to the family, the society, the nation and the world.

When we seek to understand our world from God’s point of view, aware of our eternal spiritual life, there are no enemies, only brothers and sisters.

Interreligious harmony and cooperation are prerequisites for peace.

Harmony and cooperation between political and religious leaders is necessary for lasting peace.

Through the practice of true love, divisions can be bridged, barriers overcome, and conflicting parties reconciled.

The world is at a critical turning point; courageous, bold and unselfish leadership is needed if peace is to be achieved.

Coercive force yields only an interruption in conflict, and violence offers no lasting solution; peace is built on the foundation of true love and service.

Sponsorship and Governance

The IIPC is sponsored by the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace. Its principles and programs are guided by a Council of distinguished members representing each continent and all major regions, and religions of the world. The IIPC Councilors are themselves Ambassadors for Peace on the global level who adhere to and exemplify the core principles of IIPC. IIPC has its headquarters in New York, USA, and has regional headquarters, and well as national branches around the world.