NEW YORK, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan asks religious leaders for their support in ending "a period of sharply increasing intolerance, extremism and violence."
Annan told the High-Level Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace in New York Thursday of the need for education and assistance from participants in helping the world "unlearn our collective prejudices and promote contacts and dialogue among different societies."
"You can educate us to go beyond stereotypes of the other, to avoid simplistic categorizations that exacerbate misunderstandings," he said, "and to embrace the notion that diversity -- in thought, in belief, and in action -- is a precious gift, not a threat."
Annan believes the cause for intense international conflict is a "growing tendency to articulate differences in terms of identity -- be
it religious, ethnic, racial or otherwise."
He feels identities are often tied to religious loyalties, which are rarely open to negotiation, and this association has "entrenched today's
identity-fuelled differences and made solutions appear elusive."
The secretary-general sees the conference as an example of open dialogue, which the United Nations has always seen as "an important building block for peace."
U.N. General Assembly President Sheikha Haya Al Khalifa also supported Annan's call for open discussion.
"We need a people-to-people dialogue," she said.
Annan also mentioned the September 2005 World Summit, where leaders made a commitment to "encouraging tolerance, respect, dialogue and cooperation among different cultures, civilizations and peoples" and encouraged conference participants to "help remind gathered heads of state and government of this important commitment and urge them to take stronger steps to promote dialogue and cooperation."
