International Day of Human Fraternity

  The threats of international security have changed, and it seems that they will have very different and complex discourse in the future. To maintain a secure world, the tools of countering these threats should be varied and adapted according to the environment and its needs. It is obvious that classical ways of maintaining international security are insufficient toward very intelligent and integrated menaces which always are looking for the weak points to harm the countries, societies, and all humanity. One of these alternative ways to sustain security at all levels is by using increasing interreligious communication anddialogue . Good initiatives in this field have been undertaken by many national and international actors and the results have proven the good efficacy and the high impact of these actions. Although a small country, Albania has tried to show a good example of how interreligious coexistence and dialogue can positively affect society. By being a tangible case, A...

  The protection of places of worships guaranted by religions. Dialogue among believers means coming together Dialogue solves many problems. Justice is the path to achieve a dignified life. Freedom is a right of every person Religions invites us too ramain rooteed to the values of Tolerance and Peace. Terrorism is due to incorect interpretation of religious texts. Citizenship is based on the equality of right and duties. Good relations between East and West is indisputably necessary Recognizing the rights of women in education and employment. The protection of the fundamental rights of children. The protection of the rights of Elderly and the weak.

  The Republic of Albania Constitution starts by saying that, “We, the people of Albania, proud and aware of our history, with responsibility for the future, and with faith in God and/or other universal values, with determination to build a social and democratic state based on the rule of law, and to guarantee the fundamental human rights and freedoms , with a spirit of religious coexistence and tolerance, with a pledge to protect human dignity and personhood, as well as for the prosperity of the whole nation, for peace, well-being, culture and social solidarity, with the centuries-old aspiration of the Albanian people for national identity and unity, with a deep conviction that justice, peace, harmony and cooperation between nations are among the highest values of humanity.”  In addition, it continues on by stating that:  1) “In the Republic of Albania there is no official religion.”  2) “The state is neutral on questions of belief and conscience and guarantees th...

  Excellencies, distinguished delegates, Let me start by thanking the Republic of Azerbaijan and co-organizers for holding this event dedicated to the promotion of intercultural and interreligious dialogue. It is a valuable opportunity for the United Nations to take a closer look at this important element of culture of peace. There is a lot to explore in terms of how intercultural and interreligious dialogue could be leveraged in different contexts and areas of UN activities. We are convinced that such a dialogue boosts social development through enhancing social cohesion. It serves the purpose of conflict prevention and conflict resolution by addressing their root causes, such as discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds, xenophobia and related intolerance. It contributes to better understanding of values and ensures respect for human dignity. Yet it is often overlooked in intergovernmental discussions and negotiations, as well as in their outcomes. Today, the UN, which was o...

On February 4th 2026, Conference Room 8, UN Headquarters, New York a High level panel discussion was held. Your Excellency, Mr. Farid Jafarov, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Your Excellency, Mr. Tofig Musayev, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Azerbaijan to the United Nations, Under-Secretary-General, Ms. Melissa Fleming, Distinguished Panelists, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Thank you for inviting me, Ambassador Tofig Musayev, to this panel discussion. It is held during the World Interfaith Harmony Week and coincides with the International Day of Human Fraternity. UNAOC is honoured to be the leading United Nations Secretariat entity and substantive partner in commemorating them. I wish to acknowledge the role of Jordan in spearheading United Nations General Assembly resolution 65/5 “World Interfaith Harmony Week”, and Egypt and the United Arab Emirates for championing resolution 75/200 “International Day of Human Fraternity”, whic...

  The role of religious institutions has been one of the most important and influential in cultivating and keeping the interreligious coexistence in Albania. There is high respect and a credibility shown by society to religious institutions and their leadership. During a speech in 1995, the leader of MCA was declaring, “somebody was asking me how many Muslims live in Albania? In addition, my answer was: It does not matter. We are not going to fight with each other”. This situation is more critical of all the messages delivered by religious institutions. By analyzing the preaches, sermons, and other activities, you can easily find too many examples of when they have been promoting common values and mutual respect. The language used by all religious leaders and other representatives, predominantly, has been that of love and tolerance. The impact of religious communities on society can be considered to be at a high level and, in many cases, they have been very active in finding sol...

  During recent years, one very active country in contributing to international security and peace through promoting interreligious dialogue has been the United Arab Emirates. The government of this country has undertaken many steps at the domestic and international levels to support the peace and dialogue culture serving a more secure world . One of the very important initiatives of UAE was proclaiming officially 2019 as the Year of Tolerance , aiming to strengthen the nation’s role of encouraging stability and prosperity in the region and the promotion of culture of tolerance, dialogue, and peace . The UAE has hosted many important dialogue summits and events at home and abroad, calling for religious tolerance and a warning that countries must stand up to all forms of extremism . One of the most important activities was in February 2019, the organization of a Global Conference at Abu Dhabi, hosting the Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmet el-Tayeb . During this...

  The Second Vatican Council was the first ecumenical council in the history of the Church to give serious consideration to the Church’s relationship to the followers of other religions and to advocate interreligious dialogue as an integral dimension of her mission. As is generally recognized, the Declaration Nostra Aetate , although one of the shortest of all the documents of the Second Vatican Council, is one which has had a considerable impact on the life of the Church. This document has served to open the door for Catholics into the world of interreligious dialogues and since then had gone through several drafts and its relationship with other documents of the Council had varied. The leadership of Vatican has been engaged with the interreligiousdialogue according to the level of necessity they have considered to be in different periods. Some Popes have been obviously much more active in interreligious initiatives and activities than others. Pope Francis can be clearly o...

  The United Nations has been playing a very active and important role to promote interreligious dialogue by preparing and adapting many resolutions. The UN has played a very active role by stressing continuously that interfaith initiatives can ensure rich cultural diversity to make the world more secure and to increase the culture of peace . One important initiative of the UN is the adaptation by the General Assembly of draft resolution A/61/L.60 entitled “ High-Level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding andCooperation for Peace ,” on 25 May 2007. In this resolution, the UN has considered as a great need the Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace and this has attracted increased attention amongst governments, UN agencies, religious communities, spiritual movements, civil society, and humanists at the beginning of the 21st century. The objectives of the “High-Level Dialogue” have been to strengthen efforts of interrelig...

  As the concept and the dynamics of international security drastically changes, preserving global security and peace building is one very important issue of the agenda of all political actors such as states, international organization, NGOs, civil society, media, and even corporates. Over the last two decades, all these actors have been in action to contribute to a more secure world . Organizations like the UN, OSCE, NATO, and many others have integrated in their strategic planning many parts related with new era security challenges. The same has occurred with several governments in different parts of the world or NGOs and other international institutions. The majority of these activities have also included many initiatives in the field of interfaith dialogue by emphasizing that this can have a critical role in Preserving security and promoting peace

By having a glance at policy papers and strategies dealing with counteringterrorism and prevention of violent extremism from different international organizations such UN, OSCE, and NATO, you can easily realize that there are so many approaches integrated into these strategies. They include hard ways, which includes police and military force — and at the other side,there are many soft ways indicated such as education, inclusive development , and improving the rule of law and human rights . One of the most critical of this particular category is that of increasing interreligious dialogue. “ There will be no peace between the civilizations without a peace between the religions! And there will be no peace between the religions without a dialogue between the religions. ”This is one of the main statements of Hans Kung, who claims and expects interreligious dialogue to advance ¨ peace and promote security on earth. Countering and preventing religiousterrorism is in the center the indoctrin...

  Over the past two decades, global security has been quite unstable, facing many new challenges. Since 11 September 2011, when hijacked aircrafts hit the towers in New York, the main rising threat of the international security has been terrorism. Deriving mainly from religious radicalism, it has caused many casualties in many countries around the world — without making any exceptions between east, west, south, or north. Many governments and key international organizations, such as the UN, NATO, and EU, have included security countering as a priority for preventing terrorism and violent extremism . These developed strategies can be classified into two categories according to the phase they are implemented: on one hand, there are preventive strategies and, on the other hand, there are countering strategies. Preventive activities such as education, inclusive development, interethnic, and interreligious dialogue can be labeled as a “soft way” and activities of countering terrorism...

The Azerbaijan-Armenia Peace Agreement, Afghan girls’ education advocate Ms. Zarqa Yaftali, and Palestinian welfare organization Taawon are the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity 2026 honorees. They are being honored for their humanitarian work in this year’s ceremony on February 4th at the Founder’s Memorial in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates . An independent jury selects these individuals and organizations for their notable contributions to pressing societal issues and nurturing peace and solidarity, making an impact in their communities as well as globally. The Zayed Award for Human Fraternity is an annual independent international award that recognizes people and entities of all backgrounds, anywhere in the world, who are working selflessly and tirelessly across divides to advance the timeless values of solidarity, integrity, fairness, and optimism , and create breakthroughs towards peaceful coexistence.  Follow the conversation with the hashtags:   #ZayedAwardfor...

On this International Day of Human Fraternity, we celebrate equality, dignity and mutual understanding. By honouring these timeless values, we can help to heal our fractured world. Too often, cultural and religious differences are exploited to fuel the fires of war, or to scapegoat others for political and economic challenges. At the same time, technology is increasingly used to stoke hatred and spread fear. We must work harder to find common ground. This is the message at the heart of Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, a declaration co-authored by His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb. Let us draw inspiration from this spirit. Let us reject fear and division in favour of tolerance, curiosity and respect for diversity. Together, we can build a world based on equal rights for all and compassion — and live in peace as one human family. António Guterres.

On February 4th , we observe the  International Day of Human Fraternity . The observance reminds us that we belong to one human family : diverse in culture and belief; equal in dignity; stronger when we choose respect over suspicion. At a time of growing tensions and polarization, human fraternity is not only an ideal; it is a practical commitment to live together peacefully and to protect the rights and dignity of every person. This year’s theme calls on all of us to put dialogue over division . Dialogue does not mean we must agree on everything. It means we listen with care , speak with responsibility , and recognize each other’s humanity . Especially when we feel afraid, angry or uncertain.