The Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO) of the African Union Commission and the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID) based in Vienna, Austria, have planned the second Interfaith Dialogue to promote peace inter-religious peace in Africa.
The Dialogue, scheduled to hold in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) from November 10 to 11, is also aimed at enhancing social cohesion on the African continent.
According to a statement by KAICIID, the Forum will, among other things, enhance partnerships between the African Union and religious leaders in AU Member States, enable the creation of a safe space for dialogue, add an interfaith dimension to the joint efforts towards achieving the Africa Agenda 2063 which is an AUC’s flagship initiative and serve as both a working meeting and an opportunity to set up a united front in peace building.
The event, the statement said, will provide an opportunity for participants, drawn from national interreligious councils of AU Member States, including African traditional religions and other affiliations, representatives of interfaith organizations, scholars and women, to repudiate violence committed in the name of religion in all regions of Africa, with a declaration of an unequivocal statement in support of diversity, featuring new and diverse voices in a follow-up declaration to the Abuja Declaration of 2010; and oversee the establishment of a permanent Steering Committee, which will link policy makers with religious leaders and institutions.
It said that in a bid to evolve a structured partnership between the African Union and religious leaders for advancing justice, peace, security and development in Africa, “the African Union in partnership with African religious leaders had launched the 1st AU-Interfaith Dialogue Forum in Abuja, Nigeria, in June 2010 to develop an inclusive, practical and sustainable working relationship between the African Union and faith-based organizations capitalizing on their shared values and mutual interests.” [myad]
