Interfaith Perspectives: Hope for Peace in a World of Conflict

Description:

This interfaith gathering will bring together representatives of faiths, peace advocates, and community members to reflect on the spiritual and ethical dimensions of nuclear disarmament. Through dialogue and shared commitment, participants will explore how faith traditions can help build a more peaceful and just world.

Side Event at the 2025 Preparatory Committee to the 11th Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference
May 8, 2025, 1:15-2:30 PM

Location: UN Headquarters, Conference Room A
Estimated Attendance: 30 - 40

Co-sponsors:​

• Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF)

• Reverse the Trend (RTT), NAPF’s Youth Initiative

• Soka Gakkai International (SGI)

• International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation
  Light of Awareness International Spiritual Family

Overview:

We are living in times of conflict and global tensions, with nuclear war, which threatens to destroy humanity, arguably more likely than ever before. The Doomsday Clock stands at 89 seconds to midnight, signifying the urgent need for change and nuclear disarmament.

Throughout human history, spiritual and religious leaders have played key roles in advancing peace and cooperation. Since the dawn of the nuclear age, they have also made seminal contributions to nuclear security and disarmament. The turbulent 1960s and the historic 1980s both saw significant engagement of the general public with nuclear issues, accompanied and at times inspired by the involvement of religious and spiritual leaders.

​This side event will bring representatives of faiths, movements, and civil society to investigate how religious and spiritual communities can once again open new disarmament avenues, both using bottom-up and top-down approaches. What are the mechanisms by which interfaith leaders could outreach to their communities(and vice versa) to raise awareness on what is at stake and how we can change the status quo?

Nuclear disarmament is ultimately an issue of ethics. In 2019, while visiting Hiroshima, Pope Francis stated that the mere possession of nuclear weapons is immoral. It’s time to act on this message and to pursue nuclear disarmament, in good faith, as is the legal obligation of the Nuclear Weapons States, according to the NPT.

Moderator and Panelists:

• ​Dr. Ivana Nikolić Hughes, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and Columbia University (Moderator)

• Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University and UN Sustainable Development Network

• Dr. Andrea Bartoli, Sant’Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialogue and Columbia University

• Mr. Jonathan Granoff, Global Security Institute

• Ms. Anna Ikeda, Representative of Soka Gakkai International

• Ms. Audrey Kitagawa, International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation and Light of Awareness International Spiritual Family

Proposed Agenda:

• ​Dr. Ivana Nikolić Hughes: The Importance of Interfaith Engagement for Nuclear Disarmament (5 minutes)

• Prof. Jeffrey Sachs: Global Agenda for Peace, Disarmament, and Sustainable Development: The Lens of Morality (8 minutes)

• Anna Ikeda: Buddhism and the Quest for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament (8 minutes)

• Dr. Andrea Bartoli: Nuclear Weapons and Genocide: Opportunities for Community Engagement and Citizen Diplomacy (8 minutes)

• Ms. Audrey Kitagawa: Respect for All Religions: Coming Together in a Fractured World (8 minutes)

• Mr. Jonathan Granoff: Universal Moral Foundations for Stability: Action and Unity of Faith Communities (8 minutes)

• Panelist Discussion (15 minutes)

• Q&A (15 minutes)

Objectives:

1. Crosspollination: Bring interfaith leaders together in recognizing nuclear disarmament as one of the defining issues of our time

2. Perspective Sharing: Discuss effective approaches that interfaith leaders can use to engage their communities (and vice versa)

3. Policy and Advocacy Strategy: Investigate policy and advocacy opportunities at the national and international level, especially through interfaith dialogue