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ACWR - An Interfaith Peace Organization combining meditation practice, dialogue and a concrete peace and social justice agenda

A Spiritual Agenda for World Peace

From a new international, decentralized security concept to massive disarmament to development for all

In a forum during “Disarmament Week” at the UN headquarters in New York ACWR Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Anke Kreutzer from Germany proclaimed, “A decentralized UN with Security Councils on each continent can potentially result in massive disarmament and a huge release of funds diverted to address all forms of social needs and injustices.”

Ms. Kreutzer further advised that religious and spiritually-minded people of the world can play a critical role in such an initiative, “as long as they learn to accept each other as equal partners to be a source of inspiration for such development.”

ACWR is a member of the UN Committee for Spiritual Values and Global Concerns (CSVGC) which is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the UN this week at its NY headquarters. ACWR and member groups of CSVGC are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) having consultative status with ECOSOC, the education and social council of the UN. They, in the spirit of the 2nd UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold who initiated the Meditation room at the UN, are striving to infuse more non-sectarian spirituality into the programs and deliberations of the United Nations.

Accordingly the ACWR forum began with a short silent meditation designed to make participants more receptive to inspired ideas and solutions. Participants included: a representative from the ministry of foreign affairs of Spain; the Inter-religious and International Federation for World Peace; EnlightenNext; the Tannebaum Center for Inter-religious Understanding; the Dominican Leadership Conference; the International Fellowship of Reconciliation; and Clean Mind, Clean Heart Enhancement; and others.

Reaction to the forum can be summed up in the words of Ms. Mary Adams, Director – Speakers Forum of EnlightenNext: The ACWR initiative is an, “exciting beginning. I welcome its radical perspective that has great potential application and look forward to future engagements.”

Participants eagerly await future forums in order to further discuss critical issues they raised such as:

• How many “continents” would there be and where to fit “non-continental” countries in decentralized security councils?
• How would a transition to such a structure take place and would it require amending the UN charter?
• How would it directly address religious conflicts in the world and filter down to local communities and efforts?
• Would member states have equal votes?
• Would there still be one overall United Nations?

Ms. Kreutzer, in her remarks, emphasized that there are already decentralized continental networks that can serve as a potential model of how a decentralized Security Council could work. She pointed to the European Union, The African Union, and the Association of Southeastern Asian Nations. UN member states would have to work together to make the transition and whatever UN charter amendments that would be necessary, while maintaining the integrity of one central UN and the sovereignty of member states. There are already modified voting procedures existing such as in the European Union that incorporate the differences in population of member states.

One member, Ms. Mary Adams of EnlightenNext pointed out that any such proposed decentralization of the UN would require a major “shift of consciousness” and the involvement of leaders from diverse sectors who would come together in “enlightened self-interest”. As a case in point she cited the “dissolving of borders” (such as in the European Union).