BERICHT/089: Religionsführertreffen anläßlich des G8-Gipfels beendet (EKD)

Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland - Pressemitteilung vom 03.07.2008

Internationale Religionsführerkonferenz anlässlich des G8-Gipfels in Japan beendet

Geistliche aus aller Welt fordern Umweltschutz statt Militärausgaben

Mit einem "Ruf aus Sapporo" ist am Donnerstag, dem 3. Juli, das internationale Religionsführertreffen anlässlich des G8-Gipfels in Japan zu Ende gegangen. Hochrangige Vertreter der Weltreligionen fordern darin die Staats- und Regierungschefs der G8-Staaten auf, ihre Militärausgaben zu reduzieren und mit dem eingesparten Geld einen "Earth-Fonds" zum Schutz der Umwelt und zur Bekämpfung der Armut einzurichten. In Fortsetzung der Religionsführerkonferenz, die auf Einladung der Evangelischen Kirche in Deutschland (EKD) 2007 in Köln stattfand, fordern die Vertreter von Christentum, Judentum, Islam, Shintoismus und Buddhismus die Umsetzung der UN-Millenniumsentwicklungsziele, die unter anderem die Halbierung globaler Armut bis zum Jahr 2015 anstreben.

Die knapp 100 Delegierten aus mehr als 20 Ländern waren sich einig, dass die Umsetzung der Millenniumsentwicklungsziele wie auch die Maßnahmen zum Schutz des Klimas in den kommenden Jahren aufmerksam begleitet und beharrlich eingefordert werden sollten. Der Vorsitzende des Rates der EKD, Bischof Wolfgang Huber, zeigte sich am Ende der zweitägigen Konferenz zufrieden mit dem Ergebnis. "Die Vertreter der verschiedenen Religionen übernehmen gemeinsam Verantwortung für die Gestaltung einer gerechten und solidarischen Zukunft. Ich hoffe, dass sich dieser Einsatz für die Überwindung der Armut und die Bewahrung der Schöpfung auch im Blick auf die kommenden G8-Gipfel in Italien und Kanada fortsetzen wird." Das Abschlussdokument wurde in Anwesenheit der rund 300 Teilnehmenden im Sapporo Convention Center an einen Vertreter der japanischen Regierung übergeben.

Sapporo/Hannover, 03. Juli 2008
Pressestelle der EKD
Silke Römhild

Im Folgenden finden Sie den "Ruf aus Sapporo" im englischen Wortlaut.

Call from Sapporo - World Religious Leaders Summit for Peace
On the occasion of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit
July 3, 2008
Sapporo, Japan

INTRODUCTION
We, senior leaders of the world's religions, have convened in a World Religious Leaders Summit for Peace in Sapporo, Japan, just prior to the Group of Eight (G8) Hokkaido Toyako Summit. We are united in our commitment to peace, which includes our concern for the inviolable dignity of all people, the dire suffering of so many and the well-being of our shared Earth.

We carry forward important work begun in multi-religious meetings held just prior to the G8 summits in Moscow (2006) and Cologne (2007). We have been convened by Religions for Peace - Japan in partnership with the World Conference of Religions for Peace. We are united in our call to the G8 to take bold action to address the threats that confront humanity, including the destruction of the environment and climate change, extreme global poverty and deteriorating food security, nuclear arms, terrorism and violent conflict. Addressing these threats requires urgent action by the G8.

Action by all governments, civil society, private sector, religious communities and - in the final analysis - every member of the human family is required to advance the common good. We urge the G8 to respond in ways designed to engage these stakeholders in building our common future.

Religious communities have roles in building peace. Before outlining these roles, we acknowledge with genuine sorrow that all religions have at times been misused in fomenting violence.

We reject this misuse of religions and commit ourselves to engaging our communities for the common good. Collectively, our religious communities are the world's largest social networks which reach into the furthest corners of the earth and include countless institutions dedicated to caring for people. Religions share many moral traditions that can provide basic principles essential for just and harmonious relations among persons and communities. Moreover, religious traditions - each in its own way - cultivate spiritualities of compassion and love essential for genuine reconciliation and peace. Mobilizing these great social, moral and spiritual dimensions of the world's religions in service of the common good is essential for the well - being of the human family. We are united in the conviction that all religions obligate their followers to work for justice among all peoples, and to care for one another and our common home, the earth. We commit to doing so.

OUR COMMITMENT
As religious leaders, we are committed to the path of multi-religious cooperation for peace. Religious traditions - each in its own way - summons their followers to the path of multi-religious cooperation for the common good. This path:

• Leads to senior religious leaders from all faith traditions and billions of believers working ogether for a positive and holistic state of peace;

• Enjoins the world's believers to engage their moral heritages and spiritual traditions in taking individual responsibility for protecting our earth;

• Brings politicians, civil society and religious communities together to forge needed consensus on values that can serve as the basis of just and creative policies.

SHARED SECURITY
An overarching notion that we believe can help express the comprehensive character of our moral and religious concerns is "Shared Security." Shared Security builds on the concept of Human Security by focusing on the fundamental inter-relatedness of all persons and the environment.

Shared Security includes a comprehensive respect for the interconnectedness and dignity of all life. It is based upon our mutual interdependence and the most universal and fundamental fact that all humans live in one world. It recognizes that the well-being of one is related to the well-being of others and ultimately to the earth that we all share. It calls us to recognize that past, present and future are linked. Together, we must acknowledge past failings, face present challenges and accept our responsibilities to future generations.

Shared Security is concerned with the full continuum of human relations - from relationships among individuals to the ways that peoples are organized in nations or international organizations. It respects state sovereignty, but also supports democratic and transparent cooperation among states and peoples.

It follows that the security of one actor of international relations must not be detrimental to others. International actors who are responsible for global decision-making must act transparently and be open to the contributions of all stakeholders, including religious communities which represent a major part of civil society. A similar concern for a just world order, respecting different national and religious traditions, was made at the Moscow World Summit of Religious Leaders (2006).

As religious leaders, we recognize that there is a foundational moral imperative for advancing Shared Security: We are all responsible for one another's well-being.

CALLS TO ACTION
We call upon the G8 to include in their discussions and plans of action the following areas of concern:

1. The Destruction of the Environment and Climate Change
Japan, the host of this year's G8 Summit, possesses a spiritual term, mottainai, meaning "do not waste, use everything in a fashion commensurate with its true value." This concept recognizes the mysterious "giftedness" of all existence, and urges that natural resources must be used appropriately, while simultaneously encouraging responsible and sustainable consumption. The concept also provides a base for recognizing that it is unethical to burden future generations with excessive pollution or other gross environmental imbalances. Development must be environmentally sustainable.

We must also draw attention to the link between the health of the environment and war. In addition to killing people, disrupting the lives of entire societies and thwarting development, war destroys the ecosystem. Massive defense expenditures, a global total of US$ 1.34 Trillion in 2007 according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, both directly assaults the ecosystem and squanders monies that urgently need to be directed to sustainable development. Itis a grave contradiction to advocate for a reduction of global warming gas emissions while simultaneously maintaining or even expanding military expenditures.

We urge the G8 Summit to:

2. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
The massive scale of extreme poverty at a time of unprecedented wealth is a moral scandal. Poverty is exacerbated by structural injustices in the global economy which must be addressed. At the mid-point of the Millennium Development Campaign, religious leaders gathered at the Cologne World Summit of Religious Leaders (2007). They recognized an urgent need to not only fulfill the pledges, but in some instances, to exceed the commitments made. Meeting these challenges is even more urgent, not least due to the growing food crisis. Here again, we call for the funds achieved from the reduction of defense budgets to be allocated in support of sustainable development and poverty reduction.

We request the G8 Summit to:

3. Nuclear Disarmament
Mindful that the 2008 G8 Summit is taking place in Japan, the only country that has suffered the horror of a nuclear attack, we religious leaders stand in solidarity with our Japanese hosts to call for the elimination of all nuclear weapons. We believe that the attempt to militarily dominate the sea, space, neutral territories or states creates obstacles on the way to nuclear and conventional disarmament. We also believe that conventional disarmament and efforts to ban military technologies and initiatives that could provoke a new arms race should go hand in hand with efforts to advance nuclear disarmament.

We request the G8 Summit to:

4. Terrorism and Violent Conflict
Terrorism - the intentional killing of innocent people as a way of achieving a political objective - is never morally justified whether it is perpetrated by individuals, groups or states. Moreover, military responses to terrorism injure innocent persons, provide additional motivation for terrorist groups and endanger basic freedoms in the societies attempting to protect themselves from terrorism.

Violent military conflict - the attempt to settle serious disputes by military force - typically results in the loss of innocent lives, disruption of society, thwarting of development and destruction of the environment.

Every effort must be made to utilize non-violent means to thwart terrorism and resolve disputes to advance peace.

We call upon the G8 to:

CONCLUSION
The G8 has the responsibility to use boldness and wisdom to advance the common good in partnership with the religious communities and all other stakeholders.

We -leaders of diverse religious communities - re-commit ourselves to working together and with other partners of good will to address the threats that confront us all. While we labor to meet the challenges of our day, we are deeply mindful of religious traditions which have taught - each in its own way - compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation, and that these are essential for genuine peace.

We respectfully urge the G8 to recognize, facilitate and effectively support the importance of multi-religious cooperation, as it takes needed steps to advance the common good.

We recall and embrace as our own an historic multi-religious acknowledgement on the misuse of religion:

"As men and women of religions, we confess in humility and penitence that we have very often betrayed our religious ideals and our commitment to peace. It is not religion that has failed the cause of peace, but religious people. This betrayal of religion can and must be corrected." (From the global multi-religious Declaration adopted at the Religions for Peace First World Assembly in Kyoto, Japan, 1970.)

Quelle:
Pressemitteilung 181/2008 vom 03.07.2008
Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD), Pressestelle
Herrenhäuser Straße 12, 30419 Hannover
Telefon: (0511) 2796-268/269/265/267
Fax: (0511) 2796-777
Email: pressestelle@ekd.de
Internet: www.ekd.de

veröffentlicht im Schattenblick zum 4. Juli 2008