Religious leaders unite to eradicate poverty

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and leaders of different faith groups reaffirmed their commitment on Monday to multi-religious efforts to help combat poverty and achieve the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Dr Williams welcomed members of the largest multi-religious coalition, Religions for Peace, of which he is co-president, to his official London residence, Lambeth Palace, for the meeting.

In his address, he told the leaders, "Mobilising the world's religious communities in common action is critically important at a time when the human family faces grave threats to peace, such as violent conflict, extreme poverty, and climate change."

The Archbishop announced last month that Church of England bishops and religious leaders will join together in a Walk of Witness through London on 24 July to demonstrate their determination to see global poverty eradicated.

Dr Williams encouraged religious leaders to unite in their efforts against poverty.

"If the international community is to meet its collective commitment to halve poverty and hunger by 2015, religious communities must work together on the basis of shared moral concern and marshal their considerable capacity for advocacy and for service delivery, particularly in the field of education, to alleviate poverty," he said.

The Archbishop went on to highlight the potential of faith-based education to create a culture of peace and spoke out against violence targeting religious communities and institutions.

The Moderator of Religions for Peace and Director of External Affairs for the Orthodox Church in America, the Very Rev Leonid Kishkovsky, meanwhile encouraged religious leaders to use their positions of influence to speak up on issues of concern.

"When prominent religious leaders of all faiths, like the Archbishop of Canterbury, exercise their moral authority by speaking out and acting together, they can have a decisive impact on issues such as violent conflict, extreme global poverty and deteriorating food security," he said. "Multi-religious cooperation is essential for building peace wherever it is threatened."

Buddhist, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Zoroastrian leaders were also present at the meeting, as well as international trustees of the Religions for Peace network from Europe, Africa, Asia, North America and the Middle East.

Fellow Co-President of Religions for Peace and Grand Mufti of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, HE Sheikh Shaban, said that extreme poverty was an "affront to human dignity".

"The collective reach and moral authority of religious leaders of different faiths is great, and so is our responsibility to work together to end poverty and achieve true peace," he said.

High on Monday's agenda were multi-religious efforts to advance the MDGs, binding targets adopted by the United Nations in 2000 to halve poverty and hunger by 2015, establish universal primary schooling, reduce child and maternal mortality, improve environmental sustainability, and achieve gender equality and women's empowerment.

"The injustice of extreme poverty falls most heavily on women - 70 per cent of the nearly 3 billion people living on less than $2 a day are women and girls," noted Mrs Aruna Oswal, Vice President of the World Jain Confederation and a Co-President of the Religions for Peace World Council.

"Supporting the advancement of women and girls is essential if we are to end extreme poverty and achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals."

The Religions for Peace coalition works to improve the lives of the poor, sick and vulnerable, as well as promote justice by raising awareness of legal rights.

"By advancing common action among the world's religious communities, Religions for Peace engages the moral leadership of the world's religious leaders and mobilises the vast social networks of the world's religious communities," said Dr William F Vendley, the Religions for Peace Secretary General.

"The resources of religious communities are often overlooked by governments and non-governmental organisations, but religious communities and their leaders can be powerful actors on the frontlines combating poverty and advancing development."

Religions for Peace has put together a Millennium Development Goal Toolkit for religious leaders which can be accessed at religionsforpeace.org/resources/toolkits/faith-in-action