Parliament of Worlds Religion 1999 Capetown SA

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 44

A CALL TO OUR GUIDING INSTITUTIONS
he Call to
INTERNATIONAL INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
T
A We envision a world in which
...all peoples of the Earth have an equal voice and an equal claim to be heard;
...each person has an undeniable claim to universal human rights, complemented by a personal moral responsibility based on care for others; ...each person has a right to the fulfillment of basic human needs, balanced by a personal ethical obligation to share;
...national and regional concerns for equality,
security, prosperity, and sustainability are informed by a truly global perspective;
...any resort to arms to resolve a dispute is understood as a moral failure to engage in heartfelt dialogue; the regional and the global do not subsume but supplement and sustain the local; ...people from across the planet, from all walks of life, come to see themselves as world citizens.
B Among the noblest functions of international
intergovernmental organizations is the fostering of communication and cooperation among nations and peoples toward greater global harmony, security, and peace. With this in mind, these organizations invoke and act on principles of international law while appealing on ethical and political grounds for a broadly held vision of a better world.
The twentieth century has been punctuated by two world wars and plagued by regional and world conflicts. These conflicts have been fueled by ethnic, racial, and religious antagonisms, as well as by economic imbalances and insecurities. In this century, we also have seen pervasive abuse of
1999
PARLIAMENT OF THE
WORLD'S
RELIGIONS
DECEMBER
No new global order without a global ethic!
99
...We all have a responsibility for a better global order. Our involvement for the sake of human rights, freedom, justice, peace, and the preservation of the Earth is absolutely necessary.
...We must utilize economic and political power for service to humanity instead of misusing it in ruthless battles for domination.
... Today we possess sufficient economic, cultural, and spiritual resources to introduce a better global order. But old and new ethnic, national, social, economic, and religious tensions threaten the peaceful building of a better world.
...In such a dramatic global situation humanity needs a vision of peoples living peacefully together, of ethnic and ethical groupings and of religions sharing responsibility for the care of the Earth....
We are convinced of the fundamental unity of the human family on Earth. We recall the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations. What is formally proclaimed on the level of rights we wish to confirm and deepen here from the perspective of an ethic: The full realization of the intrinsic dignity of the human person, the inalienable freedom and equality in principle of all humans, and the necessary solidarity and interdependence of all humans with each other.
Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration
1993 Parliament of the World's Religions Chicago
41