"The First World Week of Harmonious Interfaith Relations provides an opportunity to draw global attention to the efforts being made by religious leaders, interfaith movements and individuals around the world to promote mutual respect and understanding among followers of different faiths and faiths".
8th UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
The world community held the World Interfaith Harmony Week for the first time from February 1 to 7, 2011. Subsequently, it was decided to celebrate it in the first week of February each year.
On October 20, 2010, at its 34th plenary meeting, the UN General Assembly recognized the need to develop dialogue between different faiths and religions in strengthening mutual understanding, harmony and cooperation between people.
In support of this, resolution 65/5 was issued, which proclaimed the first week of February as World Week of Harmonious Relations among All Religions, Faiths and Denominations. The document also emphasizes that the moral duty of preachers of any religion or belief — is to encourage people to peace, tolerance and mutual understanding.
Everything in our world is becoming more interconnected, but this does not mean that people and societies actually live together. This is evidenced by the isolation to which millions of poor people, women, young people, migrants and disadvantaged minorities are exposed. Today, humanity has more information, technology and knowledge than ever, but people still lack a certain wisdom that would prevent conflicts, eradicate poverty and enable everyone to learn to live in harmony in a safe world.
In such new conditions of instability and globalization, it is necessary to realize that peace – is not just the absence of war. Peace — means living together, despite our differences — gender, race, language, religion or culture, it means promoting universal justice and respect for the human rights on which this coexistence depends. In this regard, the world should not be taken for granted. This is an ongoing process, a long-term goal that requires continuous improvement, vigilance and inclusive active participation. This is a choice that must be made in each individual situation, a daily decision to engage in sincere dialogue with others and communities, no matter how close or far they live.
Steps towards interfaith harmony are constantly being taken all over the world. The UN highly appreciates the importance of global, regional and subregional initiatives aimed at achieving mutual understanding between representatives of different faiths. In 2011, several events of this nature were included in the World Week program; The central one was the discussion «The role of religious organizations and interfaith initiatives in the field of development, reconciliation and peacebuilding».
The United Nations calls on all States to support, on a voluntary basis, the dissemination of ideas of interfaith harmony and goodwill during this week. The centers of events should be churches, mosques, synagogues and other houses of worship around the world.