Reaffirming the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling its resolutions 56/6 of 9 November 2001, on the Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations, 57/6 of 4 November 2002, concerning the promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, 57/337 of 3 July 2003, on the prevention of armed conflict, 58/128 of 19 December 2003, on the promotion of religious and cultural understanding, harmony and cooperation, 59/199 of 20 December 2004, on the elimination of all forms of religious intolerance, and 59/23 of 11 November 2004, on the promotion of interreligious dialogue,

Recalling also the 2005 World Summit Outcome of 16 September 2005,/1 in which the Heads of State and Government reaffirmed the value of the dialogue on interfaith cooperation and committed themselves to taking action to promote a culture of peace and dialogue at the local, national, regional and international levels,

Affirming the need for all States to continue international efforts to enhance dialogue and broaden understanding among civilizations, in an effort to prevent the indiscriminate targeting of different religions and cultures,2

Underlining the importance of promoting understanding, tolerance and friendship among human beings in all their diversity of religion, belief, culture and language, and recalling that all States have pledged themselves under the Charter to promote and encourage universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion,

Taking note of several mutually inclusive and reinforcing initiatives on interreligious, intercultural and intercivilizational dialogues and cooperation for peace,/3 including the Regional Summit on Interreligious and Inter-ethnic Dialogue, held in Tirana on 9 and 10 December 2004, the meeting on Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue for the South-East and Asia-Pacific Region, held in Melbourne, Australia, from 12 to 14 April 2005, the initiative of Pakistan on "enlightened moderation", endorsed by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the International Conference on Environment, Peace and the Dialogue among Civilizations and Cultures, held in Tehran on 9 and 10 May 2005, the launch of the Alliance of Civilizations by the Secretary-General on 14 July 2005, the launch of the World Summit on Christian-Muslim Relations, to be held in Senegal in 2007, the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, held triennially in Astana, the Asia-Europe Meeting Interfaith Dialogue on the theme "Building Interfaith Harmony within the International Community", held in Bali, Indonesia, on 21 and 22 July 2005,/4 the Conference on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace: Enhancing Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation Towards Peace in the Twenty-first Century, held at United Nations Headquarters on 22 June 2005,/5 and the Informal Meeting of Leaders on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace, held at United Nations Headquarters on 13 September 2005,/6

Recognizing the commitment of all religions to peace,

1.Affirms that mutual understanding and interreligious dialogue constitute important dimensions of the dialogue among civilizations and of the culture of peace;

2.Takes note with appreciation of the work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization on interreligious dialogue in the context of its efforts to promote dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, as well as activities related to a culture of peace, welcomes its focus on concrete action at both the global and the regional and subregional levels and its new flagship activity on the promotion of interfaith dialogue, and encourages relevant bodies of the United Nations to work closely with the Organization and coordinate their efforts in this regard;

3.Invites the Secretary-General to continue to bring the promotion of interreligious dialogue to the attention of all Governments, regional organizations and relevant international organizations, including ways to strengthen the linkages and focus more on practical actions in the implementation of the initiatives on interreligious dialogue and cooperation for peace;

4.Also invites the Secretary-General, in the context of his report to the General Assembly at its sixty-first session under the item entitled "Culture of peace", to include information on the implementation of the present resolution.

43rd plenary meeting
3 November 2005