Meet Some Ambassadors for Peace of the Universal Peace Federation

Ambassadors for Peace of the Universal Peace Federation are a global network of leaders committed to the path of promoting reconcilation, overcoming barriers and building peace.

Ambassadors for Peace From Around the World.

Dr. L.M Singhvi
Former High Commissioner for India in the United Kingdom; Former Member of Parliament; President, Parliament of the World’s Religions (1992)

I am deeply impressed by his basic idea of the institution of the family and family values. His emphasis on the centrality of family values to human welfare and to peace and harmony is a pioneering contribution in our age and time when values are under attack. He has a universal vision which embraces the world with unbounded love. His spirituality, ethical insights and emphasis on interfaith understanding are vital to his worldview and his vision for shaping a new and humane approach to the uppermost task of achieving peace on earth in our time. The first question I asked Dr. Chung Hwan Kwak, Rev. Dr. Moon’s chief lieutenant, was whether the peace movement launched by Dr. Moon had a proselytizing agenda. If it did, I was unwilling to associate with it. His answer was an emphatic and categorical no. That is how my association with Rev. Dr. Moon started. His own views on religious sectarianism was best expressed thus:

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. I think we urgently need to purify the religious atmosphere into one in which believers can have living faith and every soul can communicate with God. In God’s parental heart and His great love, there is no discrimination based on color or nationality. There are no barriers between East and West, North and South. Today God is trying to embrace the whole of humankind as His children. Through inter-religious dialogue and harmony we should realize one ideal world of peace, which is God’s purpose of creation and the common ideal of humankind.

H.E. Sir James Mancham
Founding President, Seychelles (1976-77); Chairman, UPF Global Peace Council

In January 2001, I unexpectedly received an invitation to participate in a Convocation of World Leaders that was to take place at the United Nations.

At that time, many of my collaborators thought that I should not participate in this gathering because it was an initiative of Dr. Sun Myung Moon, who was regarded then as a leader of a controversial religious sect known as the "Moonies." For a while, I thought I would refuse the invitation, but when I realized that such outstanding world personalities as Alexander Haig, former U.S. Secretary of State, and the Rt. Hon. Edward Heath, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, were to attend, I made up my mind to accept it in order to see and hear things for myself.

Upon my arrival in New York City, I learned that Rev. Moon had launched the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP), with the objective of getting all the religions of the world to put aside differences of dogma and theology in order to concentrate and collaborate, on the basis of their commonalities, in an urgent search for peace and a better world order.

I have never regretted my decision to go to New York and subsequently lend my unqualified support to Father Moon’s initiative. As a born and practicing Roman Catholic, there has never been any attempt to "convert me" towards another faith. On the contrary, through attending various conferences organized by the IIFWP over the years, I have come to know and to befriend imams, rabbis, archbishops and bishops of various Christian persuasions, Confucian and Buddhist leaders, Hindu swamis, and a whole range of other religious personalities of good will from every corner of the globe.

H.E. Abdurrahman Wahid
President, Indonesia (1999-2001)

All religions insist on peace. From this we might think that the religious struggle for peace is simple … but it is not. The deep problem is that people use religion wrongly in pursuit of victory and triumph. This sad fact then leads to conflict with people who have different beliefs. For this reason Rev. Moon’s call for peace though religion is something of great nuance and profundity. We are deeply fortunate for the chance to hear him and observe his life-long struggle for world peace. We can see how he lives peace so fully in his life. He has endured unspeakable persecution. I know this. This puts us in his debt.

If he can continue, we are the beneficiaries. This is why I harbor an inner hope that this visit will bring about the peace he lives and gives through his life and his speeches.

Hon. Jose De Venecia, Jr.
Speaker, Philippine House of Representatives

Today, the fighting faith, the marching faith and the battle cry of the IIFWP and of similar-minded organizations around the world have launched the idea of focusing on the family, freedom, unity and faith under God. No less than President George Bush of the United States of America is putting an essential focus on the need for freedom, family and faith under the aegis of God.

Rev. Moon is a great teacher and prophet of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. We the delegates gathered here believe this is the formula for bringing together the great religions of the world. This is the formula for bringing together the great civilizations and the great cultures of the world. This is the formula for bringing together the great nations, the great tribes and the great peoples of the world.

Rev. Walter Fauntroy
Former District of Columbia US Congressional Delegate, Founder of Black Caucus in the U.S. Congress, Chairman of the Black Leadership Roundtable.

That is why, from the moment I met Father Sun Myung Moon during my first month on Capitol Hill, when he came here from Korea with a message of family and a message of peace, I lined up with him. For it is related not only to my heritage as an African American but also to my work for the single most important man with the most important message for the most violent century in the history of mankind. That man was Martin Luther King, Jr., and his message was simply this: Either we learn to live together as brothers and sisters on this planet, or we will perish together as fools.Without Father Moon’s message we are in danger of becoming a world that is an insane asylum with the inmates in charge. I thank God for this movement because it is the answer to the most critical problems confronting the world today. We need to live together as families, rear our children and present the kind of leadership that will make Martin Luther King’s dream a living reality. Let’s listen and let us go forth to carry the message.
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Rt. Hon. Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford
Former Prime Minister, Barbados ( 1987-1994)

Whenever and wherever the resources of the world are distributed in such a way that some have too much and others have too little or none at all, that is discrimination. That is why Rev. Moon’s call for a stronger moral and ethical voice from among the religions to be more closely associated with the work of the United Nations should be given greater credence. For it is at the United Nations that the great dialogue among nations and people takes place, and it is there that the voices of love, peace, justice, equity, and non-discrimination must be heard echoing from the principles of a right relationship with God, a right relationship with true parents and families, and a right relationship among nations

Ven. Shoshu Murei
Priest, Takamitamanomiya Shrine, Japan

I have determined to devote my life to the cause of world peace as an Ambassador for Peace of the Universal Peace Federation. Even though it may be the "widow's mite," I will do it because it is God’s wish.

I deeply appreciate Rev. Moon’s vision for establishing world peace based on true love and true family. In order to establish world peace, one has to build a strong foundation at one's feet, which is the true family based on true love. Those who cannot establish families filled with true love are not qualified to speak about world peace. Therefore, I am publicly speaking that our goal is to complete the true family.

Dr. A. Abdul Santoe
European Representative, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha’at-Lahore, The Netherlands

I was unexpectedly offered a certificate as an Ambassador for Peace. It would appear later that I was the first person from Holland granted this title. However, being prejudiced against the so-called Moon sect, I accepted this honor with some reluctance.

But the more I learned about IIFWP, the more I noticed its difference from other sectarian movements. Born in Korea, Dr. Sun Myung Moon not only founded a Christian association but also laid the foundation for dialogue with other religious societies in the world. Out of the IIFWP has evolved the Universal Peace Federation. With this, Father Moon—as he is often referred to by his adherents—has reached out his hand to all nations in the world so that all may experience peace

It is essential to mention that the association does not imposes its own principles on others; all who are involved in the peace process, mostly as appointed Ambassadors for Peace, participate out of their own conviction.

Dr. Raheem Khan
Vice President, British Muslim Society;
Consultant Cardiac Surgeon (Retired), United Kingdom

A very practical way in which this interreligious force for peace and justice is developing is through Rev. Moon’s Ambassador for Peace initiative. I would rate it as an outstanding achievement of the greatest significance. Through this initiative, "peace councils" have already been established in almost every country; Ambassadors for Peace will be responsible for setting up and running these councils at local, regional and national levels.

Their basic function will be to maintain peace by having representatives of different communities meet together regularly and cooperate at all levels. In a wise move that will utilize the wisdom, experience and influence of the world’s religious leaders, the setting up of an International Peace Council as an "upper house" to the United Nations will stand at the apex of this worldwide network of peacemakers, and is a proposal that I stand behind 100%

Haji Roshan Khan
President, Guyana Islamic Forum for Education, Peace and Religious Solidarity

The Ambassadors for Peace in Guyana have been so touched by the love and sacrifice for peace by our Holy Founder and Holy Father that we dedicated our lives to bringing peace to our nation, especially at election time, and to educate our people about peace and the importance of creating a culture of peace during this age of restoration.

The work of the Universal Peace Federation, through its Ambassadors for Peace in Guyana, continues nationwide, spreading respect and love for all. Ambassadors for Peace have contributed tremendously to the current peace that prevails in Guyana. There was no violence during the elections or afterwards, and Guyana is on the threshold of great human and industrial development. In Guyana, Ambassadors for Peace are fulfilling their mandate.

DR. EVA LATHAM
President, Human Rights Teaching International, The Netherlands

The concept of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is about the dignity of every human being, and as such it is about moral rights. It embodies the principle of equality, recognized in natural law. The Charter of the United Nations states in Article 1 that one of the aims of the UN is to achieve international cooperation in "promoting and encouraging respect for Human Rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction...." The fundamental thought behind the Charter is that peace and stability among nations will be best achieved in this way.

The UN Charter as well as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are both means to an end: peace.

The road Dr. Moon takes to that goal is astonishing and innovative. He began at the grassroots level as an individual with a spiritual mission, later surrounded by his wife and a few followers. The evolutionary struggle of his mission is now expressed in the Universal Peace Federation, a movement spanning the globe and successfully mobilizing people to bring lasting peace based on inclusive thinking.

In the implementation of his vision, his road is concrete: to bring together not only religious, but also political leaders and people at a grassroots level from all walks of life. He has inspired them to reach out beyond their own national, religious, ethnic and social borders and affirm each other unconditionally as members of one human family. It is inclusive thinking in practice and at its best. It is the concept of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights becoming reality. D.C.

Dr. Cheryl Lau
Former Teaching Fellow, J.F.K. School of Government, Harvard University, USA

This vision of Rev. Moon and his wife, Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, is a project whose time has come. It will bring about world peace, expose contiguous countries and peoples to each others’ cultures, and truly become the global connection between all peoples and cultures.

Rev. Moon’s vision first encompassed programs of peace education that focused on the individual and the society; then it expanded to the national and international levels. The dozens of organizations that he has founded have all been building blocks that have resulted in this final global connection,

Dr. Yamba Elie Ouédraogo
Ambassador for Peace, Burkina Faso

Nobody has come up with a better proposal than Rev. Moon for pulling humanity out of the mud of violence, war and conflict. World peace will not come from the skills and abilities of science, diplomacy or economics. World peace does not come about by the signing of agreements and treaties. World peace will not be established even if the images of war temporarily disappear from the media. But a corrosive and pervasive secular, self-serving thought has come to govern human relations. We have wrongly confused progress in economics, diplomacy and science with the far more elusive—and much more vital— ethical progress that is needed for true peace.