With the initiative and coordination of Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), Asian Inter-religious Leaders' Conference on "Being Peace Makers in Asia Today" was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand from 12- 16 November 2007. From Nepal three religious leaders namely Mr. Sukhlal Singh Budhathoki, Mr. Keshab

Participants of the Asia Inter-religious leaders' conference

Here is the news about the  statement of the conference copied from CCA news bulletin that gives some idea about the outcome of the conference.

Statement of the conference affirmed, “Basic thrust of religion is to nurture life and provide [a society] for human beings to live in harmony with one another and nature. Religions in different ways have laid down the spiritual basis for a just and moral human order. Religious communities have also kept alive social networks of solidarity with all, including the marginalized, discriminated and oppressed.”

Here I share with you the areas identified in the conference for continued action:

• Strengthening interreligious networks at local, national and international level

• Working towards sensitizing general public in their own religious tradition for becoming agents of peace and reconciliation
• Advocating policies for good governance, respect for human rights, especially women and children and care for nature
• Equipping people to stand against communal, religious, ethnic and gender based violence

• Exchanging information among religious communities for promoting cooperation and solidarity
• Sharing human and financial resources for promoting a culture of peace
• Forming Interreligious Task Force for advocating and promoting human rights

• Organizing events to lobby with international forums and institutions, like UN and other similar bodies for more ethically inspired foreign policies
• Responding to policies issued by multilateral institutions, such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Word Trade Organization (WTO)
• Negotiating with major religious communities and governments, in countries where minority communities feel insecure and for implementing effective policies and initiating peace processes

Participants agreed that CCA sets up a ‘continuation team’ and design necessary mechanism that can bring recommendations into practice