BANGKOK, THAILAND, June 13, 2002: More than 100 religious leaders of major faiths launched a world peace council on Wednesday, pledging to work toward reducing sectarian conflicts, especially in Asia and the Middle East. The council was established at the start of a three-day meeting in Bangkok of Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Jain, Muslim and Hindu clerics with the support of the United Nations. The World Council of Religious Leaders, which aims to actively intervene in conflict areas, is the outcome of the recommendations of the Millennium World Peace Summit held at the United Nations in August 2000. “There is a sense of somber urgency among the leaders” to work for peace, said Bawa Jain, secretary general of the Millennium World Peace Summit. “The use of religion to promote divisiveness and violence must be countered by religious leaders from all traditions willing to become actively engaged in peace building,” he said. Addressing the conference, Israeli Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau said religion has caused many gulfs between peoples “but religion can also be a bridge. Let’s build the bridges and work together to freedom, to love, to peace for the entire world,” he said. The news report did not say who the Hindu representatives to the council were.
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