The Fifth Assembly of the World Conference ofReligions for Peace has met in Melbourne, Australia. It
records its gratitude that it met in a nuclear-weaponsfree zone. We came, nearly 600 of us, from many of theworld’s religious traditions and from some 60 countries.
A women’s meeting and a youth meeting preceded themain conference. Thirty-five percent of the participants
were women, fifteen percent youth. Though we are ofdifferent religions, we have all come with a common
commitment to seek peace, pursue justice, and preserve
the sacredness of natureSigns of Hope
We share many feelings. First we feel a sense of hope,stimulated because of developments in the international
arena occurring since 1987. The Central American Peace
Process brought progress toward the resolution of the
tragic conflicts in that region of the world. Fighting has
ended between Iran and Iraq, and hope for a speedy conclusion of fighting in Afghanistan follows the planned
withdrawal of Soviet troops from that country. Progresshas been made toward the withdrawal of South Africa
from Namibia and the complete independence of thatcountry. In the field of disarmament, the Intermediaterange Nuclear Forces Treaty, concluded by the UnitedStates and the Soviet Union, will lead to the dismantlingof certain classes of nuclear weapons. The recent worldconference in Paris condemning the use of poisonous
gas in warfare may indeed lead to the end of the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons.

Many people have shared the hope for the potential
end of the Cold War. Freedom and democracy havebecome realistic goals in countries long noted for theirdictatorial systems. In some nations where the conceptof the national security state has resulted in internally
repressive regimes, democratic practices are once again
emerging with the prospects of renewed rights and freedom. Changes in the Middle East increase the potential and the necessity for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
to be resolved. The agreement reached at the Vienna
Conference (CSCE) raises new hopes for human rights
in Europe. The worldwide ecological crisis is creating a
new awareness of our global interdependence and thenecessity to find ways of preserving the environment.
The concept of the sacredness of the land and our unity
with it is deeply felt in many places in the world. In many
countries, people of differing cultures and religions are
striving to find ways of creating pluralistic societies. Andaround the world, religious people are meditating andpraying together for peace as in Assisi, 1986; Mt. Hiei,
1987; and elsewhere.
Second, we share a sense of anticipation as the 20th
century draws to a close. We hope to enter the next century with a better understanding of our common humanity and common destiny. The conflicts and problemsof the 20th century should not be allowed to enter ordestroy the 21st century. Signs of hope exist. In Europe,a political-economic community will come into being in
1992, committed to unity within and peaceful relations
without. Hong Kong and Macao will be reunited with
the People’s Republic of China by the end of the cen-

“We share a sense of anticipation as the 20th century draws to a close. We
hope to enter the next century with a better understanding of our common humanity and common destiny. The conflicts and problems of the 20th century
should not be allowed to enter or destroy the 21st century.”

Religions for Peace I 777 United Nations Plaza I New York, NY 10017 USA I 212-6871-2163 I www.religionsforpeace.org

tury, ending an era of colonial rule. There is growing
consciousness of the need to resolve the global debt crisis and create a more just and sustainable economy. Thisis accompanied by critical self-examination by many national governments of their economic, social, political,
and cultural policies. Words such as freedom, identity,
minority rights, openness, and reconstruction now havenew meaning. A vision of a world community is beginning to take shape.
Third, there is an increased awareness of the importance of moral values in human life. Humanity canshape matters of life and death. We need not be subject
to blind fates or political forces beyond our reach. Rationality and technology are not the ultimate values ofhuman existence. Human rights are not to be definedby or for political and other conveniences, but defended
because of their inherent values.
Fourth, the United Nations is being revitalized as nations have once again begun to use the U.N. as an effective instrument for achieving and sustaining peace,justice, and freedom. We rejoice that the United Nations
peacekeeping force has been awarded the 1988 Nobel
Peace Prize. The special effort of the U.N. to conclude a
Convention on the Rights of the Child has focused concern upon the world’s children, those who will inherit
the situation we have created for the 21st century.
Fifth, education systems involving the media andother forms of communication are being developed inorder to educate people for peace and justice, creating
respect for all peoples, cultures, and faiths.
Finally, a willingness on the part of many religions isemerging whereby they contribute their finest and deepest inspirations, and cooperate with each other and withall who share common concerns in order to achieve lasting peace; a humane social and physical environment; aworld not suffering from poverty, oppression, and often
avoidable sickness and death, including the ravages of
AIDS; endemic wars; discrimination; and the other powers that plague our peoples.

We are grateful for these signs of hope, because five
years ago the Nairobi Assembly met in a context of despair. Yet we are also realists. The nuclear threat still exists. Chemical weapons have been used in recent years.
Many countries face incredible debts and remain in conflict with external economic powers, states, transnational
corporations, and financial institutions. Torture and other forms of inhumanity are still rampant. The apartheid
system in South Africa continues its defiant, oppressive
course.
The excesses of consumer waste are often revealedin patterns of exploitation of people and depletion of
resources. The environment is still polluted without sufficient thought for the consequences. “Small” wars arestill being fought with tragic consequences. Militarism
still dominates many societies. The problems of refugees continue. Political and religious fanaticism violates
human rights and freedoms. All forms of discrimination persist against women, ethnic, religious, and racial
groups, indigenous peoples, and marginalized sectionsof society.
As people of religion, we ask what we can do to preserve the changes that have improved the human condition and to address those problems that remain. Human
greed, self-interest, and pride will not disappear just bya change of the century. We must keep alive the conviction that the achievement of human happiness and fulfillment is dependent upon higher spiritual powers, powers which enable us to believe that peace is possible.
As people of religion we have responded to a call tobuild peace through trust. We realize that there are many
definitions of trust. Therefore we must first break down
the walls of mistrust. For us, trust is active. We mustacknowledge the manifold causes of mistrust that beset
us as individuals, as people, even as religions. When we
ask what creates fear in others, we sometimes forget thatthe fears of others may stem from our insecurities andfears, our greed and selfishness, our striving for power
and possession, our arrogance and ignorance.

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We are sustained by a spiritual trust - our belief in thecreative forces within the universe by which we are given
life, in which we find beauty, by which we perceive truth,by which we live in hope. That spiritual trust is liberatingand enabling. It is based on our living in harmony withthe sources of our being, with other humans and withall of nature.

Building Peace Through Trust
How, then, do we build peace through trust?
1. We build trust through disarmament and throughthe strengthening of institutions for conflict resolution.
This kind of trust implies risk and vulnerability, because
it depends on acceptance of mutual dependence rather
than a reliance on mutual terror. In the field of disarmament, however, the recent development gives us hopethat further progress can be made by reducing intercontinental ballistic missiles by 50 percent; stopping all
nuclear weapons tests; banning the production and useof biological and chemical weapons; reducing conventional arms and arms trade; and adopting a comprehensive program of disarmament, including eliminating all
nuclear weapons, by the year 2000.
To facilitate this process we have to develop confidence-building measures by broadening zones of peaceand nuclear-free zones; by preventing an arms race inouter space; by converting from military to civilian economy; and by shifting military-based research to peaceoriented research. In this way, the resources used formilitary purposes may be directed toward social, beneficial use, and thus disarmament and development canbe linked.
We recognize the role of the United Nations as oneof the most effective conflict-resolution structures in
the light of its recent achievements, and want to help
strengthen its role through our cooperation with it. At
the same time, in its capacity as a religious Non-Government Organization at the United Nations, Religions for
Peace has to serve all the more actively as an instrumentof reconciliation wherever it is possible, particularly inthose situations in which religious issues and forces contribute to the conflict. In this context we would welcome

the convening of an International Conference on the
Middle East under United Nations auspices.
2. We build trust through the protection and preservation of human rights for all peoples. This kind of trust
implies responsibility, a readiness to be accountable forthe well being of all, particularly those who are powerless or marginalized in our societies.
Women and children are the most vulnerable groups
in our societies. Forced labor, drug usage, and sexual exploitation all provide examples of the denial and degradation of their basic human rights. They are the first victims of war and they constitute over 80 percent of thepresent 13.5 million refugees. Because of these problems, we reaffirm our support for the efforts of the U.N.
Development Fund for Women. We also support efforts
to conclude the U.N. Convention on the Rights of theChild. The rapid decimation of indigenous peoples andof their unique culture goes hand in hand with the degradation of our environment. Because of this plight, we
strive for the speedy and full adoption of the draft U.N.
Declaration of Indigenous Rights.
Moral duty impels all people of faith to work for agreater justice. Warring political ideologies still curtail religious freedom in many countries. Religious fanaticism
and intolerance only serve further to fuel insecurities.
These struggles threaten world security. Often conflicts
have both religious and political components, as in the
Sudanese, the Afghan, the Israeli-Palestinian, and theSouth African cases. We must seek non-violent resolution of these struggles. In this regard, we are grateful forthe effective role played by the U.N. and its peacekeeping forces. We also rejoice at the 40th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and we call on
our respective faith communities to join in this celebration. The growing trust shown in the United Nations
family of organizations gives us hope for the future.
3. We build trust by the creation of economic systems
that provide for and assure the well being of all, and thatconserve and respect the ecological balances of nature.
This kind of trust implies that we are the inheritors ofa bountiful nature of which we are the stewards, to protect it, share it, and pass it on to our children and theirchildren in wholeness.

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Economic systems must be measured by ethical criteria, by how justly they provide for the well being of all
members of society, and by how they respect and use
the environmental base that sustains all life.
Current economic systems do not measure well, as
reflected in the ever-widening gap between the rich andthe poor, the burden of debt which impacts every society; the exploitation of human and natural resources
located in some countries which supports the affluenceand technological growth of other countries; and themassive displacement of population caught up in ruralurban migration.
We renew the longstanding hope for the creation ofa new international economic order, assuring more equitable distribution of goods and services and greater
participation in decision-making by the people.
Aware that economic and political structures are often intertwined with the religious structures of society,we call on the world’s religious communities to examine
their links to the power structures, and their own economic activity.
Our religious traditions agree that nature is to be respected. We are both trustees of nature and dependent
upon it. Evidence abounds regarding the abuse and degradation of our global environment. We have polluted
the oceans with toxic waste, and cut down forests for
short-term gain or to make way for industrial land usage.
These and other careless uses of our resources have resulted both in the greenhouse effect and in the depletionof the ozone layer.
Realizing that the condition of our common future
will be determined by our current environment andindustrial practices, we call for increasing global consciousness of environmental issues. Our technologicalresearch should be directed toward the progressive upgrading of a sustainable global eco-system. Long-range
planning for waste disposal, reforestation, and the conservation of non-renewable resources should be advocated and quickly implemented. We will indeed be held
accountable for our stewardships of the inheritance weare to pass on to all living being in the 21st century.

Non-violence is love, and love is the most powerfulforce against injustice and violence. Readiness to suffer
for truth and justice can be an effective non-violent action. The use or threat of violence destroys trust. Hatred
and the misuse of anger are forms of violence. Therecan be no building of peace where violence is involved.
The roots of violence lie in the human condition. Therefore, the cultivation of non-violent behavior, not only in
our spiritual witness, but also through challenging media
portrayals of enemies and glorification of violence, arenecessary steps for peace and trust.
We need to challenge patterns of education whichperpetuate prejudice and stereotypes, those in our textbooks, our religious teachings, our political rhetoric,
wherever we focus on violence as power, prestige, andsolution. Since “history” is often shaped by the powerful, we should recognize that the difficulty of oppressedpeoples to escape from “unjust histories” destroys theirability to trust.
Religious communities and religious leaders can assist
in global education, promoting positive learning experiences related to peoples of other cultures and otherreligions, in shaping their own religious curricula, andin monitoring those resources that are used in their respective communities. They can also model patterns of
behavior that strengthen strong and loving family relations, which provide the context for transformative social behavior.

“Lead Us from Fear to Trust”
Lead us from fear to trust. Lead us from common terror to common security as we surrender our reliance onarmaments, accept and love our enemies. Lead us fromcasualness to responsibility as we recognize in the suffering of others our oneness in the human family. Leadus from greed and selfishness to compassionate service
as we acknowledge that the inheritance of the earth andall creation is not only to us, but to others and all succeeding generations. Lead us from ignorance to knowledge, from violence to non-violence, as we learn of one
another, as we overcome our suspicions, as we grow inpatience and the ability to love, and as we ourselves experience true inward peace.

Religions for Peace I 777 United Nations Plaza I New York, NY 10017 USA I 212-6871-2163 I www.religionsforpeace.org