Background and mission

The Philippines convened the Informal Meeting of Leaders on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace in the ECOSOC Chamber of the UN on 13 September 2005, following the successful Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace held in UN Conference Room 4 on 22 June 2005. The main objective of this Informal Meeting of Leaders on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace is to reinforce the conclusion and recommendation of the interfaith conference by, in particular, a strong political reaffirmation of the importance of inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilizational dialogue and cooperation for sustainable peace.

Declaration

The 15 participating heads of state or government or their special envoys adopted a Declaration (See text from http://www.tripartiteinterfaithforum.org/) reaffirming their commitment to the promotion of inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilizational cooperation for peace. The Declaration provides among others, that: (1) Their ministers meet annually at the margins of the UN general debate to take stock of the progress of their work; and (2) Other governments be invited to adhere to the Declaration.