United Nations Outreach

The Coalition offers a prayer to open the 57th General Assembly of the UN

Established in 1945, the United Nations represents a union of the people of the world - dedicated to "preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security."
Through a collection of associated non-government organizations, the United Nations fosters relationships to spread its message and support the work of its various initiatives. United Nations programs include peace and security, economic and social development, human rights, humanitarian affairs and international law.

The Sikh Coalition, recognizing that religious pluralism must be more than just rhetoric, focuses on building relationships with faith based organizations to support programs that foster greater understanding between communities.. Through this initiative, the Coalition became involved with a number of UN programs. Based on this work, Harpreet Singh, the Coalition's Director of Community Relations, was invited to recite a Sikh prayer at the annual interfaith service of the United Nations on September 11th, 2002. This ceremony marked the opening of the 57th Session of the United Nations General Assembly and was dedicated to the victims of violence throughout the world. Other speakers included religious representatives of other faiths as well as United Nations Secretary General Kofi Anan and UN President Jan Kavan.

Today's service assembles representatives of a wide range of religions and faiths. A multireligious gathering such as this embodies the ideals of understanding, interrelationship, mutual tolerance and acceptance. It was with these very ideals that the founders of the United Nations laid the groundwork of the organization which has grown into the most representative and indispensable of all the international organizations. It is precisely these values which are essential to achieving a peaceful and just co-existence in a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected.

-Jan Kavan, President of the 57th General Assembly of the United Nations
[Complete Speech]

Seeking representation for Sikh people at the United Nations, the Coalition also participated in a conference, "Governance and The Role of Religion in Peace and Security." The conference sought to create an inter religious council involving all religions. Diplomats, former heads of states, religious leaders and other distinguished members of various NGOs and academic institutions from over 75 nations attended the three day conference. . Along with the Sikh Coalition, Jathedar Singh Sahib Bhai Manjit Singh (Takht Sri Keshgarh Sahib) and Dr. Tarlochan Singh (Gurdwara Singh Sabha of Washington) also attended the conference.

The global community and its secular institutions are progressively realizing the importance of education and inter-religious dialog to foster tolerance towards all peoples. Religious groups are increasingly playing a pivotal function in the design of public literacy programs in all spheres of society. Tbe Sikh Coalition has been active at a local level in the United States with various governmental agencies and with the NGO community to disseminate education on Sikhism. The Coalition's activities on an international level stem out of a vision that public literacy should not be confined to just one region or nation. The Coalition has built a strong foundation to ensure that our present efforts in the United States are disseminated internationally to people of all faiths and cultures across the globe.

No longer can nations or peoples isolate themselves inside of a single country or region. Similarly, Sikhs are recognizing that their issues and needs cannot be compartmentalized into single regions or problem domains. The Sikh Coalition hopes to continue to participate in a broad range of activities and support the interests of Sikhs across the globe. By partnering with the United Nation, we hope to ensure that Sikhs all over the world have a voice.