Faiths Unite in Support of Child Rights

3 April 2014
Source: Mizzima-news from Myanmar

Leaders of Myanmar's four main religions met to make a joint 'Myanmar Interfaith Declaration' on the rights of the child. 

The declaration expressed their commitment to the notion that every child can enjoy his or her rights according to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The commitment was given at an event organised by a partnership between the Ratana Metta Organisation and UNICEF and held at the Chatrium Hotel on April 2-3.

Sri Lanka Council of RfP Opens Multi-Religious School in Conflict-Affected Area

After three decades of war in the Vavuniya district of Sri Lanka, the Tachibana RfP pre-school, a multi
religious center of learning, opened on 21 February and marked another significant milestone for the Sri Lanka Council of RfP (SLCRP).

The 60 children enrolled in the new school come from Sri Lanka's diverse religious communities. Studying and playing together will help rebuild bridges of trust among their families even as they receive a high-quality education in a safe, protected and calm environment.

The Tachibana RfP Pre-school was opened with the financial assistance of Tachibana Sangyo Corporation, Japan.

RfP Myanmar Child Protection Projects

Approximately 56,000 children under five die annually in Myanmar - 43,000 of them younger than 1 month.

RfP Myanmar is currently undertaking initiatives to advance and strengthen multi-religious collaboration for child protection. 

These projects aim to deliver important services to support vulnerable children and their families and strengthen child protection systems. Implemented in the Southern Shan State, Bago West, Ayeyawaddy and Yangon Regions within 13 townships and 20 villages of 8 districts, the child protection project in Myanmar so far has succeeded in -

Religions for Peace Sri Lanka Advances Post-War Reconciliation and Healing: RfP Sri Lanka’s 12th District-level Interreligious Council Launched in Kirinochchi, the most war-affected region and the ex-stronghold of LTTE

(7 November 2012 | Kirinochchi, Sri Lanka)

Hindu, Christian, Muslim and Buddhist leaders in the Kirinochchi district, the most war-affected region
and formerly the stronghold of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), launched the Religions for Peace (RfP) Sri Lanka-Kirinochchi District Interreligious Council on November 7, 2012. The inauguration was preceded by the RfP delegation’s visit to its Jaffna District Council for the monitoring of interreligious projects in youth leadership training, medical camps, Sinhara-Tamil language training, and women’s empowerment.

Senior Religious Leaders in Myanmar Reject Violence and the Misuse of Religion in Rakhine State

(Yangon, Myanmar)

Senior Buddhist, Muslim, Christian and Hindu leaders in Myanmar, collaborating as members of the working committee for Religions for Peace Myanmar, issued a multi-religious statement on June 18, 2012 in Yangon, Myanmar, to address the escalating violence and the misuse of ethnic and religious differences to fuel conflicts in Rakhine state. The senior religious leaders represent Myanmar’s major religious organizations, namely the Ratana Metta Buddhist Organization; the Myanmar Council of Churches (MCC); the Catholic Church; the Hindu Community in Myanmar; and the Islamic Center of Myanmar.

At least 50 people have been killed in fighting in Rakhine State since May 28, 2012 when a Buddhist
woman was raped and murdered in Kyauk Ni Maw village, allegedly by three members of the Muslim
Rohingya minority. The rape-murder resulted in a series of clashes across Rakhine State, which
borders Bangladesh, displacing up to 30,000 people.

Religious Leaders from the ASEAN Region Visit Conflict Zone in South Thailand and Form an ASEAN Region Multi-religious Network

PRESS RELEASE

(Bangkok and Pattani, Thailand | September 19, 2012)

Photo: Supreme Cambodian Patriarch Tep Vong [an RfP Co-President] together with a Senior Islamic Leader in conflict zone of Southern Thailand 

More than 200 religious leaders, representatives of inter-religious councils and peace scholars from the
Association of South Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, convened in Bangkok and Pattani, Thailand on 17-19 September 2012, to address the role of religion and inter-religious cooperation in resolving conflicts and building peace in the ASEAN region.

Religion and Peace Building Process in ASEAN

Peace building efforts in ASEAN needs to be enhanced. Here is an event to share from efforts by core groups member, Religions for Peace

Venerable Tep Vong, Supreme Patriarch of Cambodia; Co-President, Religions for Peace, being escorted by the Imam of a mosque in Yala, Southern Thailand (copy right: Religions for Peace)