PRESS CONFERENCE ON PROTECTING RELIGIOUS SITES

PRESS CONFERENCE ON PROTECTING RELIGIOUS SITES

Following the General Assembly's adoption Thursday of a resolution on "Protection of Religious Sites", Rabbi Arthur Schneier, President, Appeal of Conscience Foundation, told correspondents yesterday at a Headquarters press conference that the international community had come through in a rare manifestation of consensus to take a stand against a growing global scourge.

Rabbi Schneier was joined by His Eminence Archbishop Demitrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America; Imam Mohammad Mostafa Ibrahim Gemeaha, Director of Religious and Cultural Affairs, Islamic Center of New York; Reverend Dr. Fred Anderson, Pastor, Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church; Monsignor Francis Chullikat, Deputy Observer of the Holy See; and Very Reverend Papken Anoushian, representing His Eminence Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, Primate of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America.

The press conference was sponsored by the Permanent Missions of Hungary and Austria, the initial co-sponsors of the resolution, which condemned all acts of violence against religious sites and urged all States to ensure that religious sites were fully respected and protected.  The text, which enjoyed the sponsorship of 115 nations, was adopted by consensus.

On behalf of Giandomenico Picco, Personal Representative of the Secretary-General, Therese Gastaut, Director of the Public Affairs Division of the Department of Public Information, expressed appreciation for the efforts of Member States to promote the concept of dialogue among civilizations.  The resolution would further strengthen international efforts to nurture such a dialogue.

It was a great day for the United Nations and for religious sites worldwide, stated Rabbi Schneier.  It had been a particularly gratifying moment for him personally, as he had witnessed his own synagogue being set ablaze in Vienna, Austria, during Kristallnacht in December 1938.  As that image had stayed with him, he was particularly sensitive when he saw any desecration or destruction of a religious house of worship, be it a church, mosque, temple or synagogue.  Had there been such a resolution at that time, perhaps his synagogue would have been standing today. 

He went on to say that Secretary-General Kofi Annan, during a meeting earlier in the day with the leaders, had thanked them for standing together for an inter-faith initiative to protect religious sites all over the world.  The resolution was not the end of the story; it now had to be promoted and implemented.  With the increase of tribalism and ethnic conflicts, came an increase in attacks against houses of worship.

His Eminence Archbishop Demitrios hoped that the adoption of the resolution would open the way for further similar, healthy, creative and positive measures.  Drawing a comparison between the protection of religious sites and protection of the environment, he said that the violation and destruction of the environment had its parallel in the destruction of religious sites as an act of violence against the spirit and against civilization.  The same eagerness for fighting pollution should be shown towards protecting religious sites.

Harming any place of worship in the name of religion was a crime, said Imam Gemeaha.  Religious sites belonged to not only the followers of one faith, but to all of humanity.  He and his fellow leaders stood together to say that enough had been enough. 

Reverend Anderson said that pursuing one's own faith with integrity meant ensuring that all other faiths had the same space, same rights and same guarantees.  What had begun as a religious movement had now also become a political one.  As the Secretary-General had told the group, once the resolution was adopted, the real issue was to publicize it and to hold nations accountable to what they had agreed to.

Monsignor Chullikat noted that the resolution was a landmark document in the history of religion and its role within the United Nations.  The protection of religious sites was ever more relevant today, in light of the increasing number of internal conflicts and the targeting of such sites.  He was encouraged by the support shown today by the United Nations for the work of religious leaders worldwide.  

Respect for religion, noted Very Reverend Anoushian, was central to the smooth functioning of the international community.  The passage of the resolution would only enhance that functioning, and so it was a historic day.  He expressed his appreciation to the Foundation, which spearheaded the passage of the resolution.

Asked about the origins of the initiative to protect religious sites,

Rabbi Schneier said that Foundation had brought together the three religious leaders of the former Yugoslavia in Switzerland in 1992.  For four hours, each one had accused the other of atrocities and had presented lists of the churches and mosques that had been destroyed.  They adopted the Bern Declaration, which had called attention to the destruction of religious sites.  That meeting marked the beginning of a dialogue between the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Islamic community and the Catholic Church in that region.

Subsequently, he said, there was a similar conference in 1994, which brought together 120 religious leaders from the Balkans and Central Asia.  Again, the same issue had resurfaced and, again, the leaders had taken a stand.  It was a recurrent theme, which had also come up during a meeting in Vienna of the three religious leaders of Kosovo.  The United States was also not immune to it, he said, referring to the burning of African-American churches and synagogues. 

When they realized that the inter-faith religious initiative was not sufficient, he and the other leaders appealed to the President of the General Assembly to put the issue on the agenda, especially since it was the Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. 

On tangible measures to implement the resolution, he said that, among other things, the text had requested the Secretary-General to devote attention to the issue of the protection of religious sites in his forthcoming reports related to the Year. 

Asked how the resolution could prevent future acts of destruction, such as that which had taken place recently in Afghanistan, Rabbi Schneier replied that that particular act of brutality had occurred despite the interventions of various leaders, including the Secretary-General.  Perhaps if the resolution had existed last year, it might have been a deterrent. 

Archbishop Demitrios added that there was no mechanism in place that could have a direct impact on or control specific countries.  That was an area that belonged to States.  What could be done was to influence or help in the process of enforcing the decision.  In that connection, the media was the best ambassador in spreading the message of the resolution.

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