August 21, 2000
The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, head of the Unification Church, last week proposed the creation of a UN assembly consisting of religious representatives, the Washington Times reports.
Membership of the proposed body would consist of "respected spiritual leaders in fields such as religion, culture and education" who "transcend the limited interests of individual nations," said Moon, speaking last week at a UN forum.
Moon also recommended that nations create "peace zones" funded by international grass-roots organizations and administered by the United Nations. A millennial gathering of spiritual leaders at the end of this month is also expected to push for a religious council to assist the UN in its efforts to promote peace. Last week's "Assembly 2000" brought together leaders from around the world to discuss the future of the world body. The Assembly 2000 forum met as a nongovernmental body, sponsored by the Indonesian and Mongolian UN missions.
Former Costa Rican President and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias accused wealthy democracies of putting national security ahead of human security. Former US Senator Bob Dole, who heads a commission on wartime missing persons, said the UN should learn from the Balkan tragedy, in which 250,000 to 300,000 died as a result of a "bureaucratic disaster," and act "quickly and decisively" to save lives (Larry Witham, Washington Times, 19 Aug).
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