Delegates representing more than 70 inter-religious groups made the
endorsement at the Eighth World Assembly of Religions for Peace in Kyoto, Japan.
The Declaration commits religious and faith communities to confront violence
against children and protect children in their communities.
The document was developed during a global consultation this past May in
Toledo, Spain, which was convened by UNICEF and Religions for Peace, a coalition
of leaders representing the world’s major faiths.
“UNICEF has a long history of working with religious communities across the
globe. Their moral authority and their vast constituencies make them uniquely
powerful allies for children,” said the agency’s Executive Director, Ann Veneman.
“This Declaration is a rallying call for religious groups to unite around this
common cause: the protection of children from violence of all kinds.”
The Declaration will be presented, along with a report on violence against
children, to the General Assembly on 9 October. __________________________________________________________________
30 August 2006 –
Senior religious leaders from across the globe today endorsed the
Declaration on Violence against Children, an instrument aimed at combating
violence against society’s youngest members that was developed with the help of
the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Ann
Veneman