Intercultural Understanding and Human Rights Education ... - APCEIU

▶ Dr. Toh Swee-hin
| Summary of the Presentation|
- Dr. Toh Swee-hin
In multicultural societies, the challenge
of promoting human rights toward a
culture of peace remains both substantive
and urgent. Where cultural differences
and diversity embody faith dimensions,
there clearly needs to be an active
process of cultivating relationships
between faiths and cultures based on
mutual respect, understanding and
solidarity. At the same time, it is also vital
for faiths to engage critically and openly
with the prevailing predominantly
seculardiscourse on human rights,
which is an indispensable part of a
holistic paradigm of a culture of peace.
This paper seeks to explore areas of
complementarities and synergy between
faith philosophies/beliefs/ traditions and
human rights concepts and practices , as
well as potential or actual tensions
between faiths and human rights
discourses. In turn, what may be the
possibilities and exemplars for
transcending such tensions through
educating for interfaith dialgoue and
human rights for a culture of peace
The affirm shared values and principles
across diverse faiths that seek to
transcend culture of war and violence
toward a holistic culture of peace include:
dismantling a culture of war -
militarization violates human rights, faiths
need to promote active nonviolence
critical intra-faith dialogue on textual
justification for violent strategies to
resolveconflicts; living with justice and
compassion faith and secular values
challenge local and global inequalities
and injustices to overcome structural
violence of local and international
economic systems; promoting human
rights and responsibilities; building
intercultural respect, reconciliation, and
solidarity overcome racism, stereotyping,
xenophobia, and genocide; living in
harmony with the earth ecological
destruction violating human rights of all
peoples, especially marginalized, green
theologyand faith-based environmental
movements; and cultivating inner peace -
growth of spirituality; faith identify roots
of attachmentsthat can encourage
practices violating rights of others.
(please refer to page 91 for full text)
International Symposium on a Culture of Peace 25