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Geneva, 15 June 2001


Launch of “Sacred Rights:
Faith Leaders on Tolerance and Respect”

Statement by Mary Robinson,
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and
Seceretary-General, World Conference
against Racism, Xenophobia and related Intolerance

Palais Wilson




Excellencies,
Representatives of Faiths,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am happy to welcome you to Palais Wilson as we launch the book “Sacred Rights: Faith Leaders on Tolerance and Respect”. I am particularly pleased that Bawa Jain, the Secretary-General of the Millennium World Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders, is able to be with us this evening. Thanks are due to him for his commitment in ensuring that the book was published. I think that it is a very attractive book, both in appearance and layout and also in its thoughtful and thought-provoking content. The range of spiritual and religious leaders who have contributed is wide, starting with His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II and ending with His Excellency Sheikh Fawzi al-Zafzaf.

This book illustrates that, across the broad range of religious faiths, the human person enjoys a certain sacred status or dignity and this applies to every member of the one human family. The sacredness of the human person and the oneness of the human family provide in religious perspective the basis for the human rights of every individual and for the religious rejection of discrimination or intolerance on the basis of race or gender or any other particular difference. This unanimous condemnation of racism by religious leaders the world over should strengthen the hearts and actions not only of their own followers but even of those without religious conviction and who may have seen religious difference as at least compounding racial and other divisions in the past.

We must recognise that difference has often been perceived as a threat. The stranger, or in some language the other, has prompted fear of the unknown. In many cultures this has led and still leads to exclusion and discrimination. Religion has been used as a pretext to separate communities and to stir up distrust of those regarded as different. Great wrongs have been done in religion’s name, wars have even been fought in religion’s name.

But we also know the power of faith which has moved people to stand up for human rights and against injustice. I think of Martin Luther King, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

I see our task as being, not merely to be tolerant and accepting of difference, but to champion diversity. In order to move beyond what Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sachs calls the merely passive refusal to exaggerate or exploit differences it is necessary, as he suggests, to understand and respect differences. This can be a slow and painful task of education particularly in situations where historical divisions and their emotional overlay still persist. The great religions, with their tradition in education, can contribute enormously to this educational task, both through their own teaching as already touched on in this book and, more profoundly still, by the living examples of that teaching in their structures and practices.

The Patriarch of Ethiopia points out that for many religious traditions human diversity is God given, not only to be respected and understood but to be celebrated. This is also the message of the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches. Difference should be seen as a gift. Gender difference is in some ways a very obvious gift and in religious traditions it is regarded as of clearly divine origin and blessing. This has not, however, prevented gender from being at times a source of painful oppression rather than a source of joyous celebration. The emergence of different racial and ethnic groups has an even more ambiguous history and the celebration that should follow respect and understanding has only recently begun.

In religious terms, celebration of difference implies both a celebration of the diverse gifts of different peoples and their cultures and of their creator. The Emir of Kano quotes in confirmation from the Qu’ran:

‘Oh mankind! We created you from a male and female, and have made you nations and tribes that you may know one another. Loa! The noblest of you, in the sight of Allah, is the best in conduct.’

In similar vein, the Reverend Billy Graham quotes from the Christian scriptures about God’s determination to bring into His eternal Kingdom people “from every tribe and language and people and nation”.

Solidarity is a concept we need to embrace in our increasingly interdependent, multicultural world. Pope John Paul II emphasises this approach: “The Church … feels itself in solidarity with all those who are victims of discrimination for racial, ethnic, religious or social reasons.”

The richness of religious traditions provides much food for further reflection and, above all, for effective action towards the abolition of racism and all forms of prejudice and intolerance. The sense of joy in and celebration of human difference is the positive and liberating dimension of campaigns against racism which religions and their leaders are equipped to promote. One idea which may be worth considering is for the religions and faiths to organise - in addition to or in conjunction with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - an annual inter-religious and international day of celebration of human diversity. This would, of course, include clear condemnation of racism and its associates but the primary emphasis would be on the enriching character of human diversity, with special reference and outreach to those suffering discrimination in a particular region of the world.

Throughout the preparations for Durban my aim has been to engage all sectors of society in the process so that the decisions and outcome of the Conference are truly representative. That is why I warmly welcome the engagement by religious and spiritual leaders. Their thoughts and beliefs will be an inspiration for all concerned with fighting racism, discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. By bringing these contributions together, this book will serve as an enrichment of our preparations for the Durban Conference.

Thank you.