DRAFT SAUDI STATEMENT ON INTERFAITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L STATE 117019

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/31/2018
TAGS: PREL UNEP KISL SA
SUBJECT: DRAFT SAUDI STATEMENT ON INTERFAITH
DIALOGUE

REF: A) RIYADH 1346
B) RIYADH 1395
C) VATICAN 0067
D) VATICAN 0077
E) VATICAN 0079
F) USUN 0519

Classified By: Classified by IO/PDAS James Warlick for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) This is an action request. See paragraphs 2 and 4.


2. (SBU) The Saudi Mission to the UN has shared with us
the draft text of a statement it hopes to see issued
following the upcoming UNGA plenary session on interfaith
dialogue. A copy of the Saudi text is at paragraph 3.
USUN should engage with the Saudi Mission to obtain the
line-in, line-out changes at paragraph 4, and should seek
support from the Saudi Mission and the UN Secretariat for SYG
Ban Ki-moon to
issue the revised text. A copy of the resulting text
sought by the USG is included at paragraph 5.


3. (SBU) Draft text as provided by Saudi Mission (with
paragraph letter indicators added for ease of reference):

(a) At the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud of Saudi
Arabia, the General Assembly convened a high-level meeting
during its sixty-third session on 12 and 13 November 2008
under item 45 culture of peace.

(b) The meeting reaffirmed the purposes and principles
enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. The
meeting further recalled that all States have pledged
themselves under the Charter to promote and encourage
universal respect for and observance of human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to
race, sex, language or religion.

(c) The High-level meeting underlined the importance of
promoting dialogue, understanding, and tolerance among
human beings, as well as respect for all their diverse
religious, cultural and linguistic identities.
Participating States expressed concern about the increase
in serious instances of intolerance, discrimination,
hatred expressions, derision of religious symbols, and the
misuse of religions in actions of terrorism, violence and
coercion, in direct contradiction of the commitment of all
religions to peace, fraternity and love.

(d) The high level Meeting of the General Assembly
reiterated its call for the dissemination of a culture of
tolerance and mutual understanding through dialogue as a
framework for international relations, and for supporting
the initiatives of member states to deepen inter-faith and
inter-cultural dialogue.

(e) The High-level meeting welcomed the holding of the
world conference on dialogue held in Madrid between 16 and
18 July 2008 under the patronage of the Custodian of the
Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud,
and King Juan Carlos I of Spain. The High-level meeting
recognized that this initiative is the latest in a series
of initiatives made by Member States at the United Nations
which seek to entrench the culture of peace and
understanding among the proponents of various faiths,
cultures, and civilizations; and spread among all peoples
the values of compassion, love, and fraternity, as well as
the recognition of the common destiny of mankind

(f) The meeting endorsed the process initiated in Madrid,
and strongly encouraged its continuation. It appreciated
what the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah
bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud mentioned in his address regarding
the establishment of a steering committee composed of
representatives of all the religions and faiths
represented in Madrid to continue the dialogue, and the
allocation of a trust fund to guarantee the autonomy of
the dialogue process so it continues free from any
political interference.

(g) Member states expressed their commitment to
strengthening and supporting existing mechanisms within
the United Nations for protecting the environment,
spreading education, eradicating poverty, and fighting
drug abuse, crime and terrorism, utilizing the positive
contribution of religions, faiths and moral humanitarian
principles in these endeavors.

End Text.


4. (C) USUN should seek the following changes to the Saudi
text. Should the Saudi Mission decline to accept some or
all of these changes, USUN should seek further
instructions from the Department.

-- Para a, sentence 1, and in all other instances
throughout the document: Change "high-level meeting" to "
plenary meeting."

-- Para a, sentence 1: "Culture of Peace" should be
capitalized.

-- Para b, sentence 1: After "...in the Charter of the
United Nations" add "and in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights." (Note: The Saudi Mission has indicated
that it may prefer citing this as "and in basic Human
Rights charters" or "and in basic Human Rights
principles." USUN should press for explicit mention of
the UDHR. End Note.)

-- Para b, sentence 2: Change "... universal respect for
and observance of human rights..." to "respect for human
rights."

-- Para c, sentence 1: Change: "religious, cultural and
linguistic identities" to "religions, cultures and
languages."

-- Para c, sentence 2: After "... hatred expressions," add
"and harassment of minority religious communities of all
faiths, as well as..."

-- Para c, sentence 2: After "... derision of religious
symbols," add "restrictions on the freedoms of religion
and expression,..." (Note: Should the Saudi Mission
object to the direct juxtaposition of the point on
derision of religious symbols with the point on religious
freedom, the recommended added clause may be inserted
after the phrase "and the misuse of religions in actions
of terrorism, violence and coercion,..." End Note.)

-- Para c, sentence 2: After the phrase "and the misuse of
religions in actions of terrorism, violence and
coercion,..." add "and rejected the use of religion to
justify the killing of innocent people,..."

-- Para d, sentence 1: Change "its call..." to "the
call..."

-- Para d, sentence 1: Delete "as a framework for
international relations,..."

-- Para d, sentence 1: Change "initiatives of member
states..." to "initiatives of religious leaders, civil
society and member states..."

-- Para e, sentence 1: Change "welcomed..." to "took note
of..."

-- Para e, sentence 1: Delete "the holding of..."


-- Para e, sentence 2: Change "initiatives made by Member
States..." to "initiatives made by religious leaders,
civil society and member states..."

-- Para e, sentence 2: Delete "at the United Nations..."

-- Para e, sentence 2: Change "which seek to entrench..."
to "to seek to entrench..."

-- Para e, sentence 2: Change "all peoples..." to "all
people..." after which add "a culture of respect for human
rights and tolerance,..."

-- Para e, sentence 2: Change "destiny of mankind" to "
humanity of us all."

-- Para f, sentence 1: Change "The meeting endorsed..." to
"Participants at the meeting acknowledged..."

-- Para f, sentence 1: At the end of the sentence, add
"... through appropriate interfaith dialogue."

-- Para f, sentence 2: Change "It appreciated..." to "They
took note of..."


-- Para f, sentence 2: Change "the establishment" to "his
establishment"

-- Para f, sentence 2: Change "the allocation" to "his
allocation"

-- Para g, sentence 1: Change "strengthening and
supporting..." to "strengthen and support..."

-- Para g, sentence 1: After "drug abuse, crime and
terrorism,..." add "combating intolerance, and protecting
and promoting human rights,..."


5. (SBU) Revised text as sought by the USG:

(a) At the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud of Saudi
Arabia, the General Assembly convened a plenary meeting
during its sixty-third session on 12 and 13 November 2008
under item 45, Culture of Peace.

(b) The meeting reaffirmed the purposes and principles
enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The meeting
further recalled that all States have pledged themselves
under the Charter to promote and encourage respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without
distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.

(c) The plenary meeting underlined the importance of
promoting dialogue, understanding, and tolerance among
human beings, as well as respect for all their diverse
religions, cultures and languages. Participating states
expressed concern about the increase in serious instances
of intolerance, discrimination, hatred expressions, and
harassment of minority religious communities of all
faiths; as well as derision of religious symbols,
restrictions on the freedoms of religion and expression,
and the misuse of religions in actions of terrorism,
violence and coercion; and rejected the use of religion to
justify the killing of innocent people, in direct
contradiction of the commitment of all religions to peace,
fraternity and love.

(d) The plenary meeting reiterated the call for the
dissemination of a culture of tolerance and mutual
understanding through dialogue, and for supporting the
initiatives of religious leaders, civil society, and
member states to deepen inter-faith and inter-cultural
dialogue.

(e) The plenary meeting took note of the world conference
on dialogue held in Madrid between 16 and 18 July 2008
under the patronage of King Abdullah and King Juan Carlos
I of Spain. The plenary meeting recognized that this
initiative is the latest in a series of initiatives made
by religious leaders, civil society, and member states to
seek to entrench the culture of peace and understanding
among the proponents of various faiths, cultures, and
civilizations; and spread among all people' a culture of
respect for human rights and tolerance, the values of
compassion, love, and fraternity, as well as the
recognition of the common humanity of us all.

(f) Participants at the meeting acknowledged the process
initiated in Madrid, and encouraged its continuation
through appropriate interfaith dialogue. They took note
of what King Abdullah mentioned in his address regarding
his establishment of a steering committee composed of
representatives of all the religions and faiths
represented in Madrid to continue the dialogue, and his
allocation of a trust fund to guarantee the autonomy of
the dialogue process so it continues free from any
political interference.

(g) Member states expressed their commitment to strengthen
and support existing mechanisms within the United Nations
for protecting the environment, spreading education,
eradicating poverty, fighting drug abuse, crime and
terrorism, combating intolerance, and protecting and
promoting human rights, utilizing the positive
contribution of religions, faiths and moral humanitarian
principles in these endeavors.

End Text.
RICE