Reverend Forbes called on those at the Peace Summit to accept the security that God offers and to pool our collective wisdom to insure the health of this planet. In a spirit of unity and peace Reverend Forbes hoped that what would really come from the Peace Summit are not words but a spiritual message in the hearts, minds and bodies of those who attended.
In a short message read by the Dalai Lamias representative, the Tibetan spiritual leader called for interreligious and international dialogue and harmony and asked religious leaders to address the issues of world poverty, injustice and environmental degradation. During the reading of the message the Chinese delegation left the room.
Speaking on the second day, Dr. Karen Singe, a member of the Indian parliament called for a major commitment to move towards a culture of peace and conflict resolution that must necessarily be based upon a creative and continuing dialogue between the worlds great religions. Closely allied to this commitment is the alleviation and ultimate elimination of poverty, using the educational system to teach religious harmony and the safeguarding of the natural environment.
Other speakers included Calf Amman, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Cardinal Francis Rinse, president of the Viaticums Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Obadiah alibied, secretary-general of the World Muslim League, Indue Gain, the Chair of the Times of India Group, His Divine Holiness Primate Swami I Maharaja and Dr. Albert Lincoln, the secretary-general of The Baha'i. Dr. Lincoln appealed for the spiritual energy latent in each one of us to be directed toward world peace, building a global commonwealth based on unity in diversity animated by both love and justice.
The next two days of the Peace Summit were devoted to individual sessions where many echoed the same theme of engaging religious and spiritual leaders in the active processes of fostering a sustainable future, from eliminating the devastation to the environment, to the resolution of armed conflicts, to the eradication of poverty and to providing satisfactory education for all the children of the world.
The main document to emerge from the Peace Summit gathering was the Commitment to Global Peace. In this document, those signing recognized that [h]umanity stands at a critical juncture in history, one that calls for strong moral and spiritual leadership to help set a new direction for society, and consequently the religious and spiritual leaders acknowledged their special responsibility for the well-being of the human family and peace on earth.
To discharge this responsibility the Commitment to Global Peace declares a commitment and determination to, among other things, collaborate with the United Nations, lead humanity by word and deed in a renewed pledge of ethical and spiritual values, promote the equal distribution of wealth within and among nations, call for the universal abolition of nuclear weapons and practice and promote the values of the inner dimension of peace in prayer and meditation.
