NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY-GENERAL TO JOIN RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN CALL FOR WORLD PEACE

Press Release

NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY-GENERAL TO JOIN RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN CALL FOR WORLD PEACE

Second Annual Interfaith Service To Be Held on 16 September

On Wednesday, 16 September, the General Assembly President, Didier Opertti, and Secretary-General Kofi Annan will make brief statements at a prominent gathering of world religious and spiritual leaders -- the Second Annual Interfaith Service of Commitment to the Work of the United Nations.

Scheduled to begin at 8:45 a.m. at St. Bartholomew's Church on Park Avenue at 51st Street, the Service marks the opening of the General Assembly and commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human rights. Over 1,500 members of the diplomatic community, senior United Nations officials, other invited guests and members of the public are expected to attend.

International leaders from the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain, Jewish, Native American, Shinto, Sikh, and other faith traditions and communities will come together for a one-hour service. Adorned in their religious attire and addressing the congregation in various languages, they will pray, chant, sing and read passages from religious texts to demonstrate their united support for world peace.

"This service is one of the newest traditions on the United Nations calendar, but already it has made an impact as a moving expression of solidarity and goodwill among peoples of different faiths and traditions", the Secretary-General has said.

There will be a special invocation by six-year-old Gary Owens in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. A young survivor of the Rwanda massacre, whose family was wiped out, will sing before the assemblage.

According to the organizers of the event, the Interfaith Center of New York and the Temple of Understanding, the goal of the service is to show the support of the religious communities from around the world for the work of the Secretary-General and the United Nations. At a time when individual

terrorists, as well as nations, continue to wage war in the name of religion, it is more important than ever to show the unified support of the religious communities for the cause of peace. One outcome of the event could be to demonstrate the role religious leaders could play in the peace process. It is hoped that their coming together will show their various constituencies around the world that all religions belong to one human family, and that every faith upholds the same goal of tolerance and genuine coexistence among people.

All correspondents are invited to attend the service and are requested to present their official United Nations grounds passes for admittance. They should be seated by 8:30 a.m.

Note: For more information, please call Bill Hass in the Department of Public Information at 963-0353.

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