REMARKS:
Juan Carlos Brandt
Director, UN Information Office, Sydney

It is a privilege it is to address you this afternoon, at this, the first annual Interfaith Service of Commitment to the Work of the United Nations, to mark the opening of the 60th Session of the General Assembly and the 2005 World Summit of Heads of State and Government in New York over the coming week.

The United Nations and the religions of the world share a common concern for human dignity, justice and peace. The objectives and principles enshrined in the Charter of the UN, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Millennium Declaration represent a common set of global values shared by all cultures and civilizations.

A multi-religious gathering such as this embodies the ideals of understanding, interrelationship, mutual tolerance and acceptance. It was with these very ideals that the founders of the United Nations laid the groundwork of the Organisation. These values, in particular, are essential to achieving a peaceful and just coexistence in a world that is so interconnected.

The United Nations is a forum that unites peoples of a multitude of faiths and backgrounds. At the same time, it is a place, which offers room for finding common language and shared solutions through dialogue and cooperation. It is only in this spirit that the organisation can fulfill its mission of bringing peace and advancement into the life of every human being.

We have much to be thankful for in this world, and particularly in this country.

But today, 11 September, we should also take a moment to recall the memory of the people who became victim to an appalling terrorist act carried out on this day four years ago in the United States. To honour their memory, serves, as an apt reminder of the kinds of threats we are all facing in the 21st century.

Decisions made at the World Summit this week will determine how we, as an international community, deal with these threats and strive for a better world. In doing so, it is important that we enhance interfaith cooperation amongst governments, civil society and the United Nations system to achieve sustainable peace.

This quest binds religions, governments and the UN together. The partnership is appropriate as stakeholders in the achievement of a regime of rights and freedoms, a culture of peace, a civilization of tolerance, a policy of inclusion and empowerment, and of sustainable economy.

By strengthening intercultural and inter-religious dialogue and cooperation, we will further advance on the path to enlarging freedom and sustaining peace.

Much work lies ahead, but today's gathering is a significant event that is a step in the right direction.

Let me express my sincere gratitude to The Interfaith Center of Melbourne, for organizing this service.

It provides all of us with a day of reflection, a sense of commitment and a much needed source of hope.

Thank you.

The Interfaith Centre of Melbourne - Promoting Understanding and Cooperation For Peaceful Coexistence