Universal Principles and Human Dignity Our Attitude to Immigrants and Refugees

U P F

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Global Migration Trends

1 Billion Migrants World Wide

215 million international migrants (UNDESA)

405 million international migrants by 2050 (World Bank)

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL - EUROPE’S POLICY Brussels, 25 October 2013

• Europe’s priority clearly is not to save lives or to protect people• Instead it is to prevent people in need of safety from arriving in Europe • Search and rescue capacity is not even mentioned • Neither is the need to open safe routes for refugees to Europe • Instead, the proposed measures focus yet again on enhanced border surveillance • This will simply lead to people taking riskier routes to reach Europe

Nicolas Beger, Director of Amnesty International’s European Institutions Office.

AUSTRALIA 19 July Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that any asylum seekers arriving by boat would be sent to Papua New Guinea, If assessed as refugees would be permanently resettled in Papua New Guinea, Complete disregard to Australia’s obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention.  Asylum seekers are being subjected to mandatory indefinite detention

GREECE Men, women and children fleeing war-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan trying to reach the EU via Greece are being illegally ‘pushed back’ to Turkey. Greek border guards destroying their boats and leaving them stranded in Turkey This practice is not only illegal, it is incredibly dangerous.

UNITED KINGDOM – No recourse to public funds Due to poor quality asylum decision making and a shortage of affordable legal advice, people seeking safety are very vulnerable to destitution, putting them at risk of homelessness, hunger and exploitation.  Refugee Action

UNITED KINGDOM When an asylum seeker is given refugee status, their situation completely changes and they’re expected to look after themselves very quickly.  Finding somewhere to live, learning English and seeking work are just a few of the challenges they face. 

Refugee Action

Universal Peace Federation

Founded by the Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon in 2005.

The fruit of 40 years of earlier initiatives engaging leaders in the sciences, arts, academia, and interreligious fields.

In special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

Tortured by Japanese

In late November 1944 he was arrested and tortured in Seoul on suspicion of being a Communist

They beat me with a table and broke all four legs against my body, but I refused to give them the names of the people who had worked with me in Japan. They hung me from the ceiling …. like a slab of meat hanging in the butcher’s shop.

Forced Labour Each ten-man team had to load 700 bags in an 8 hour working day.

Supper was a handful of boiled grain and salty soup

The skin of their fingertips peeled off from exposure to the fertilizer.

People died even while eating.

Refugee to the South Virtually the entire population were now refugees. Together with a young follower and a former prisoner who had a broken leg, he left for the South.

Pusan - Refugee on the hillside – January 1951 The shack Rev. Moon built with ration boxes.

UPF Guiding PrinciplesThe highest qualities of the human being are

spiritual and moral in nature.

Human beings long for truth, beauty, and goodness.

Life’s deepest meaning and purpose can be found through the pursuit and

application of these values

Each person has an eternal spirit that transcends physical life.

Spiritual principles are to be practiced in this life both as the foundation for a good

society and to prepare us for the eternal world.

ARTICLE 1

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should

act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Resolution 217 A (III) of 10.12.1948

Human Dignity

… Human dignity is not only a fundamental right. It is the actual foundation of all other fundamental rights.

… Therefore, none of the rights written in this charter shall be misused to violate human dignity.

UPF Guiding PrinciplesLasting peace cannot be achieved through political compromise alone.Religious wisdom and mature spirituality empower us with the capacity

to forgive and the love to overcome even generations of hatred,

resentment, and violence.

The need for an Interreligious Council at the UN as well as National and Local Peace Councils

Track I: governmentsTrack II: intergovernmental and

international organizationsTrack III: Civil Society, NGOs, faith-

based organizations, voluntary associations, grass roots organizations,

etc.

Partnerships Beyond “Track I” Efforts

UPF Guiding PrinciplesWe are one family under God.

We can understand ourselves as brothers and sisters when we recognize

God as our common origin. The way to rise above the pursuit of self-

interest is to recognize our common humanity, given to us by our Creator.

UPF Guiding PrinciplesBy practicing the ethic of living for the sake of others we can reconcile the human family.The Religious Youth Service Founded by Rev. Dr. Sun Myung Moon at the Assembly of World Religions in 1985Over 250 projects in 60 nations Eleven nations organized projects in 2012:

UPF Guiding PrinciplesThe family is the “school of love and peace.”

In the family, the most basic personal and public virtues are learned. The

foundation for a healthy family is a faithful, committed marriage.The UPF Character Education curriculum focuses on universal values and core ethical principles common to all cultures.

A character education teacher training program in Gabon.

“Religions should be concerned with God’s will for world salvation more than with the salvation of the individual or the welfare of their own denomination.

I think that now is the time for all religious bodies together to search again for the true will of God.

Founder’s Words

As far as I know, God is not sectarian. He is not obsessed with minor details of doctrine. We should quickly liberate ourselves from theological conflict, which results from blind attachment to doctrines and rituals, and instead focus on living communication with God.

In God’s parental Heart and His great love, there is no discrimination based on colour or nationality.

There are no barriers between countries or cultural traditions, between East and West or North and South.

Through inter-religious dialogue and harmony we should realize one ideal world of peace”

Assembly of the World’s Religions, Nov. 1985

The Path to Peace

CommunityFamily Nation WorldIndividual

Peace: expands the concept of peace as the absence of war, to include peace within the individual, the family, community, society, among religions

and nations; hence, a comprehensive vision of peace

Broadened the Definitions of Core Concepts

Security: expands the traditional concept of security as protection of a

nation-state’s population from external invasion, to include quality of life,

political freedom, education, rights; hence, human security.

Broadened the Definitions of Core Concepts

Development: expands the concept of development as economic aid, to include

quality of life, education, capacities-building, moral development, governance,

leadership, interdependence, environmental sustainability; hence, human

development.

Broadened the Definitions of Core Concepts

Thank You