Tokyo Declaration 2021
The Ninth Governance Assembly
Asian Conference of Religions for Peace (ACRP) /Religions for Peace Asia
Preamble
The pandemic of COVID-19, which has impacted negatively across all spheres of human activities since late 2019,
remains a harsh and deadly challenge against the global citizens. People of the many faith communities are also not
immune. The COVID-19 virus prohibits us from gathering at churches, temples, mosques and other places ofworship and forces us to change the ways of conducting important rituals and practicing of our faith traditions.
The Ninth Governance Assembly of the Asian Conference of Religions for Peace/ACRP (hereafter called the TokyoAssembly) also known as Religions for Peace Asia was originally scheduled to take place in Tokyo, Japan in October
2020, at which we would have celebrated the 50th anniversary of the First World Assembly of Religions for Peace, heldat Kyoto, Japan in 1970. While it was delayed for a year due to the COVID-19; the delay was in no way a setback.
We, resonating the vision and mission of ACRP, are convinced that the postponement gave us a valuable opportunity
to reaffirm our determination for and commitment to carrying out our concrete actions on the ground.
The Tokyo Assembly was convened online for the first time with the center stage being set up in Tokyo from October
17th to 22nd in 2021 under the theme, Asian Religious Communities in Action: Moving towards an Inclusive, Healthy, Prosperous,
Peaceful Asia. Representing a wide range of the faith communities in Asia and the Pacific, about 1,500 people,
including official delegates, from 21 countries during the past six days, participated in the Tokyo Assembly, which
was hosted for the first time by Religions for Peace Japan. ACRP is deeply grateful to the host chapter for its assistancein convening the Tokyo Assembly.
The Tokyo Assembly approved a totally revamped Constitution build around the Governance Assembly (124delegates) and the Executive Council (47 delegates) and added two new bodies, namely, the Advisory Council andthe Board of Asian Trustees. It approved the interim membership of Timor-Leste, its newest member to add to the21 member nations: Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Japan, Korea (Democratic
Republic of), Korea (Republic of), Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan,Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand, representing 52 per cent of the world’s population.

Our Challenges in Asia
Even though the 21st century is said to be ‘the Asian Century’, Asia is not yet at peace and this necessitates genuine
efforts for further reconciliation among the Asian nations and their minorities. The people of Asia are seriouslyconcerned about the on-going arms race and the global existential threat posed by nuclear weapons. The Korean
Peninsula is still in division as the last afterimage of World War II. Intra-state and inter-state conflicts andconfrontations are being witnessed in many parts of Asia. The participants in the Tokyo Assembly are concerned
about conflicts and bloodsheds in the Asia-Pacific region.
Though tangible economic growth has been achieved in Asia, quite a few countries suffer from economic recession
and poor governance, under which the gap between the rich and the poor is widening. Dignity of all forms of life
both animate and inanimate in Asia is endangered, therefore, education to raise awareness of the dignity of all formsof life is highly demanded. The voices of people, whose human rights are being violated, should be clearly heard.
Problems such as human trafficking, child labor, child marriage and other customary wrong behaviors lead to genderinequality and violate human dignity. Religious, ethnic and cultural diversity are in jeopardy in Asia, and they arebeing worsened by religious, political and ethnic extremism. The degradation of the environment, which constitutes
another attack on the dignity of life, is widespread in Asia. Climate change is labeled now as climate “crisis,” whichhas posed severe challenges to human survival and development. All countries are the victims of the climate crisis.

Our Reaffirmation for Asia
Through intensive discussion, the Tokyo Assembly affirmed that Asia with its rich religious and cultural heritage isready in countering the aforementioned challenges and even threats. Deeply respecting differences and diversities,
the people of Asia, fully cherishing pluralism, have come to realize that we share the sense of family-hood amongst
us and are proud of our Asian spiritualities, which call for resonance in human heart and urge us to unite throughsharing with and caring for one another. The beauty of Asia is therefore symbolized by such terms, including
compassion, tolerance, forgiveness, togetherness and inclusiveness in the context of human relationships andcoexistence with nature.
The Tokyo Assembly has become a historic landmark in evolving the organization into a movement ofimplementing concrete actions. In addition, the Tokyo Assembly has become a showcase of the achievements of
ACRP’s flagship projects, which constitute such prioritized project areas as 1) human trafficking, 2) education onthe dignity of all forms of life, 3) conflict transformation and reconciliation, 4) development and environment, and5) the advancement of youth leadership. The narratives of success and challenging stories shared by the committed
members of ACRP motivated the Assembly participants to advocate transformation for our Asia into a more
inclusive, healthy, prosperous and peaceful abode for all the peoples in Asia. We are also convinced that we must
commit more to the implementation of a variety of programs/projects: actions, not only words.
In retrospect, the preparation for the Tokyo Assembly began with an important principle, which was derived fromthe widely known Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted at the United Nations in 2015: “Leave nobodybehind.” The word, “inclusive,” contained in the sub-themes of the four Commissions, stemmed from the preceding
maxim. Constructively benefiting from the keynote address and the discussions in Plenaries and Commissions, theTokyo Assembly became a forum where the ways and means of how we could become a driving-force incontributing to a better Asia have been displayed.

2The themes of the four Commissions were: (a) Education for Peace and Human Dignity, (b) Human Rights andWell-Being for the Vulnerable, (c) Reconciliation for Social Cohesion drawing on the situations in the Korean
Peninsula and Myanmar and (d) Development and the Environment in Diversifying Societies. A late arranged
session was given to Afghanistan, drawing on input from Japanese NGOs personnel still in the country.
We, the participants in the Tokyo Assembly, hereby reaffirm that ACRP is a multi-religious organization, which
promotes common actions amongst faith traditions and religious communities across Asia and the Pacific workingfor peace, religious harmony and community cohesion as this multi-religious cooperative organization is working
for peace at regional, national and local levels. This is the hallmark of ACRP. Through ACRP activities, diverse
religious communities in Asia discern “deeply held and widely shared” moral values such as peace and reconciliation,
promoting the dignity of all forms of life, constructing just and harmonious societies, advancing sustainable
development goals. ACRP is determined to translate these spiritual and moral ideals into concrete actions. As themembers of religious communities across Asia, we make a unique contribution to the promotion and actualizationof peace in Asia, based upon our grassroots communal reach, our spiritualities and our abilities to work across ethicand religious boundaries.
It was highlighted in the Women’s Pre-Assembly that women are the agents of change but face challenges likegender inequality, economic injustice and human rights violation. Some of the concrete steps identified to overcome
these challenges were: education for all men and women on gender rights, justice awareness and capacity buildingon all tiers of the society and government including regulated use of social media platforms.
ACRP values the important role that the youth play in dealing with the issues we face and that they are vital partners
in our mission. We commit to continuously encourage, empower, and engage the youth in our work. We pledge tocreate a platform for youth involvement and our support in their projects and programs.
Being fully mindful that the Tokyo Assembly is a platform where we reaffirm what we have accomplished in termsof our engagements in concrete activities, we exchanged our inspirational views both on Flagship Projects andCOVID-19 and Asia’s Religious Communities. For instance, the backdrop of our action stems from our Asianspiritualities. In accordance with a paradigm shift whenever it occurs, people of the faith communities may respondto the change in order to give adequate assistance for the vulnerable and the wounded. In addition, we could listen
to the voices of those who live in the countries in trouble such as Afghanistan, Myanmar and the two Koreas. As aresult, we did reaffirm that we redouble our efforts in carrying out humanitarian assistance in those countries.

Call for our Common Actions in Asia
Through the intensive discussions in Plenaries and in Commissions, further very useful and pragmatic
recommendations were tabled. We, the members of ACRP and its 22 national chapters, are hereby determined tocarry out the following recommendations:
Recommendation 1: We promote, advocate and implement through interreligious dialogue and collaboration theACRP flagship projects, namely 1) Awareness Raising of the Dignity of All Forms of Lives, 2) Anti-Human3

Trafficking, 3) Peacebuilding and Reconciliation, 4) Protection of the Environment and 5) Youth Leadership
Development.
Recommendation 2: We aim to be fully committed to and implement through interreligious dialogue andcollaboration the programs/projects/activities to be articulated in the ACRP new Action Plan.
Recommendation 3: We aim to generate funds to carry out the flagship and other projects and utilize the Board
of Asian Trustees, which will be formed in due course.
Recommendation 4: Asian and Pacific religious leaders encourage their communities to become vaccinated ifthey so desire for the common good because ‘no-one is safe until all are safe’, and they and their communities
advocate and promote in collaboration with RfP International the fair and just distribution of the vaccines andtheir manufacture to prevent the further spread of the COVID-19 virus, especially in the poorer nations.
Recommendation 5: We engage the youth members in decision-making processes at all levels as the youth are not
only the ‘hope’ for the future but also the ‘hope’ of the present.
Recommendation 6: We engage women in decision-making process at all levels as change makers along with men,as they complement each other.
Recommendation 7: We implement humanitarian activities for the people of the Democratic Republic of Korea
through the Korean Council of Religionists (KCR) in collaboration with the Korean Conference of Religions forPeace (KCRP). We promote the process for the signing of a peace treaty between the two Koreas. Peace education
be advocated for achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Recommendation 8: We make committed efforts in peacebuilding and reconciliation for Afghanistan, Myanmarand other countries, where the victimized and the marginalized raise their cries. We continue to pray and commit
our actions to realize peace, rapprochement and social cohesion for the peoples of these countries in deep sorrowand devastation.
Recommendation 9: We are engaged in the activities for the elimination of nuclear weapons and in the discussionof the pros and cons on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to advocate conversion of the defense budget
towards funds for promoting peace related activities.
Recommendation 10: We advocate with governments, international organizations and faith communities for peace
dialogue on inclusiveness, togetherness and environmental protection also using social media platforms in a positive
way such as peace videos, presenting position papers, public rallies, prayers, conferences, seminars and webinars.
Recommendation 11: We network and engage in global partnerships in line with the SDGs to promote solidarity,cooperation and sharing of best practices with one another.
Recommendation 12: We reiterate the social responsibility of the religious communities, by actively carrying out4

interreligious dialogue and cooperation, and advocate the spirit of equality, respect, inclusiveness and mutuallearning. We also take concrete action to implement the principles and strategic actions of ACRP, reach consensus
and make joint efforts to address climate change, protect the environment, and create a sound ecologicalenvironment, bearing it in mind that peace education and environmental education need to be linked. We further
jointly build a community of all life on earth, and leave behind a clean world for future generations.
These recommendations mesh with the six strategic goals of Religions for Peace International: (1) Promote peaceful,just and inclusive societies (2) Advance gender equality (3) Nurture a sustainable environment (4) Champion
freedom of thought, conscience and religion (5) Strengthen interreligious education and (6) Foster multi-religious
collaboration and global partnerships.
ACRP is grateful to RfP Japan for its generous contribution of ¥ 30,000,000 (approximately US$ 273,000) to theimplementation of the ACRP flagship projects within the scope of the coming five years and for its support of theACRP secretariat.

Adopted at the Ninth Governance Assembly of ACRP
on October 22nd, 2021

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