Address given by Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, President, Women’s Federation for World Peace at the United Nations, August 18, 2000
I am honored to have the second occasion to speak in this august edifice infused with humanity’s commitment to the ideal of world peace. On April 10, 1992 at the Olympic stadium in Seoul, Korea my husband and I founded the Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP), a United Nations NGO. One hundred fifty thousand women representing 72 nations attended the inaugural ceremonies of that Federation. Now active in 185 countries, WFWP is a strong supporter of United Nations policies and fostering a “Culture of Peace” and “Dialogue of Civilizations.”
WFWP has supported a variety of programs aimed at helping each woman to understand her intrinsic value as a daughter of God. It has provided scholarships and educational opportunities for women in less developed countries. Through its sisterhood ceremonies, it has worked to promote racial and religious reconciliation. In particular, I believe these efforts by women in the East and West to join in harmony have been extremely significant. WFWP has conducted AIDS prevention programs around the world. We strongly emphasize to young people that the fundamental way to prevent AIDS is abstinence before marriage and fidelity within the marriage relationship.
As part of my work I have been able to travel to and speak with citizens of most UN member states through large and small gatherings. Through my travels, I have seen that the problems affecting our world – immorality, war, hunger, poverty, lack of education, and disease grow more serious with the passage of time. I believe, though, that the most serious problems facing our world today, are first, spiritual ignorance that which makes humanity ignorant of God and the spiritual world that is our eternal homeland, and, second, the break up of the family and the corruption of our youth.
God exists, and He is not a distant being who created the world and then abandoned it. Like any parent, God grieves when He sees the suffering of His children. The most profound source of God suffering is the fact that humankind lost the ability to feel God's heart. We do not feel that God is our parent, that all people are His children, and that we are all brothers and sisters.
Real brotherhood and sisterhood cannot be achieved without God in the ideal of universal true parents. My focus is the movement to establish true families centered on the solid bond of true love between husband and wife. It is only in the context of such families that the true parent model, true husband-wife model, and true children model can be established. True families are the foundation both for a world of peace and the prosperity of each individual country.
I am always grateful to my husband, the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, for his philosophical guidance in full support so that I could pursue these lofty goals. He has dedicated his entire life to the realization of God's Will and the establishment of world peace. From his early youth, he has had a very special relationship with God. Through deep prayer and communion with God, he has pursued answers to the fundamental questions of life, including the purpose of life and the origin of evil.
Anyone who knows my husband understands that he is an extremely sincere and serious man. He has invested himself fully in a life of service to God, and the words are true that he has uncovered have changed the lives of adults and young people in more than 185 countries.
My husband has not had an easy life. He has endured all manner of misunderstanding and tribulation. He has withstood betrayal, beatings, imprisonment, and several attempts on his life. Yet, he has never let any such obstacles alter his commitment to the promise he made to God and Jesus on a Korean hillside more than six decades ago.
As his wife, I know better than anyone that his dedication to God's work has caused him to forego food, sleep, and personal comfort. I testify to you that my husband has even sacrificed normal family, racial, and national ties so that God's heart might be comforted. He has lived with the single-minded purpose of bringing to Earth the ideal world of peace of God's desire.
I would like to express my deep gratitude for your participation in these deliberations. I believe the United Nations is a representative organ that must bring to reality the ideal that lies deep within God's heart. I pray that this providential organization can be blessed to have fulfilled its God-given responsibility and usher in an era of peace.
May God's blessing be upon all of you and upon these deliberations. Thank you very much.