Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message to the Symposium on “The Role of Interfaith Dialogue in Peacebuilding and Women Empowerment”, delivered by Lakshmi Puri, Assistant Secretary-General for Intergovernmental Support and Strategic Partnerships, UN-Women, in New York, today, 12 February: Peace, dignity and respect for others are core values common to all of the world’s great religions. The United Nations is proud to uphold these values, including through our work to build peace and empower women. I commend the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Peace Islands Institute for organizing today’s symposium on these important goals. It is a fitting way to commemorate World Interfaith Harmony Week. People place extraordinary trust in their faith leaders, who have a far-reaching ability to help achieve lasting peace and promote the status of women. As long as entrenched hatreds and gender bias remain, conflicts will simmer and women will suffer. Only when we achieve a fundamental change in mind-sets can we realize true ...
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