Baku, Azerbaijan - UPF held a conference in Baku on Sept. 27, 2010, to review the peace process in the Caucasus and review the proposal for an interreligious council at the UN.
Among the 60 participants were representatives from Parliament, the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office, NGOs and academic organizations of Azerbaijan, businessmen, and cultural workers.
The program was held under the chairmanship of Hon. Rahim Huseynov, Ambassador for Peace and former Prime Minister of Azerbaijan. In his speech he pointed out that all the efforts of intergovernmental organizations have been unable to relieve the tensions in the region. He expressed his hope that the recent meeting of the presidents of the USA and Azerbaijan would open new approaches to peace in the South Caucasus.
Famil Gozelov expressed his indignation at the ongoing occupation of Azerbaijan territories and the inactivity of international organizations in this respect. The Secretary General of UPF-Russia, Konstantin Krylov, after his report about UPF activity in Eurasia, emphasized the importance of a peaceful approach to the problem within the framework of UPF’s South Caucasus Peace Initiative; he told about UPF’s educational activity in Armenia.
During the program participants also discussed one of UPF’s leading projects – the creation of an interreligious council at the UN, proposed by UPF Founder Dr. Sun Myung Moon in 2000.
Among the speakers were Mrs. Zarifa Salakhova, Director of the Museum of Books, and Mr. Mahamadali Obdulayev, Rector of the International University of Humanities.
We welcomed Dr. Abbas Zeinalov and other public activists in Azerbaijan as new Ambassadors for Peace. In his guiding remarks, Rahim Huseynov reminded them that true Ambassadors for Peace should make the commitment to strive for peace beyond national and religious boundaries.
For more information about UPF-Eurasia's South Caucasus Peace Initiative, click here.