Philippines pushing for U.N. Office on Interfaith Dialogue by UN Wire 1:50pm 26th Nov, 2003   November 25, 2003    The Philippines will press for a modified version of its proposal for a U.N. agency to promote interfaith dialogue, the Washington Times reported Sunday.    A draft resolution was proposed earlier this month to create an "open-ended working group to examine the contributions of inter-religious dialogue and cooperation in strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to promote international peace and harmony."    The proposal calls for a second delegation of religious ambassadors who would serve as an "interfaith senate" within the U.N. governing body.  Although the suggestion of a religious presence in the United Nations has been around since its creation, many states have questioned whether it would compromise the international body's independence.    Jose de Venecia, speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, said in September that the new agency "has become a major objective of Philippine foreign policy."  He said the proposal has been endorsed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the African Union and Iranian President Mohammed Khatami, a Shiite Muslim.    One thousand religious leaders gathered at U.N. headquarters in 2000 to create the World Council of Religious Leaders, an interfaith body that would be independent and "available as a resource" to the United Nations and other national and international bodies.
	Next (more recent) news item
	Next (older) news item