Bahá’í World/Volume 32/Bahá’í International Community Activities

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[Page 125]

ACTIVITIES

The Bahá’í International Community (BIC) represents, at the United Nations and at international gatherings, the more than five million Bahá’ís living in some 246 countries and dependent territories around the world. Its 183 national and regional administrative bodies are engaged in a wide range of activities aimed at creating a just and peaceful society. In recent years, Bahá’í International Community activities at the local, national, and international levels have centered on four major themes—human rights, the advancement of women, global prosperity, and moral development.

The Bahá’í International Community’s United Nations Office and its Office of Public Information play complementary roles in this work. The United Nations Office offers Bahá’í perspectives on global issues, supports UN programs, and assists its national affiliates to work with their governments and other organizations in their own countries to shape policies and programs that will foster peace and prosperity. The Office of Public Information coordinates and stimulates the public information efforts of national Bahá’í communities, and disseminates information about the Bahá’í Faith around the world through print and Web-based publications. [Page 126]

United Nations

The Bahá’í International Community has consistently supported the social and educational objectives of the United Nations since its inception and has been formally affiliated with the UN since 1947. The BIC was granted special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1970, the first year such status was granted to international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Consultative status with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) was accorded in 1976, and with the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) in 1989; that same year, the BIC established a working relationship with the World Health Organization (WHO). The BIC has United Nations Offices in New York and Geneva and maintains representations to United Nations regional commissions in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, and Santiago, and to the UN offices in Nairobi, Rome, and Vienna. Its Office for the Advancement of Women, established in 1992, functions as an adjunct of the United Nations Office.

This year the Bahá’í International Community added a new representative to the United Nations in New York, Bahiyyih Chaffers, an attorney from Canada.

Human Rights

In keeping with the principles of its Faith, the Bahá’í International Community is committed to justice and the belief that without a profound emphasis on human rights and responsibilities the cherished goal of creating a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world order will remain beyond our grasp. Human rights and responsibilities were, in fact, the subject of the first formal Bahá’í statement to the UN, delivered in 1947. It is this continuing commitment that has motivated its active participation in the NGO Committees on Human Rights, Racism, and Religious Freedom, serving as chair and vice-chair of two of those committees.

The Bahá’í International Community is active in the defense of its own community and protecting the rights of Bahá’ís everywhere to practice their faith, working through the United Nations’ human rights machinery and meeting personally with diplomats on behalf [Page 127]of Bahá’ís experiencing difficulties in their countries. The role of National Spiritual Assemblies, which liaise with their governments on behalf of the Bahá’ís of Iran, is particularly important now that some governments are considering dialogue with Iran as a way of encouraging that country to improve its human rights record.

The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution expressing concern over continuing human rights violations in Iran this year, the 16th such resolution in the past 19 years that makes specific mention of the “continuing discrimination faced by Bahá’ís and other religious minorities.” After the absence of a similar resolution for the past two years, this step represented a sign of hope and confirmation that the international community stands behind its words on human rights. A combined effort at UN headquarters in New York on the part of the Bahá’í International Community and external affairs representatives from Canada and the United Kingdom, along with the support of external affairs officers in capitals around the world, helped to secure the resolution’s passage by a wider margin than in recent years.¹

Advancement of Women

In June 2003, Bani Dugal, the Principal Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations, was elected by acclamation to chair the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, the main committee of NGOs concerned with women’s issues at the United Nations. The committee is one of the largest of the Conference of NGOs and is the NGO committee that interfaces with the Division for the Advancement of Women and other agencies at the UN regarding issues related to gender equality. In its role as chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, the Bahá’í International Community gave direction and focus to the organization and the preparation of NGO involvement at the 48th UN Commission on the Status of Women (csw) that was held in March 2004. The BIC was primarily responsible for facilitating the highest level of participation of NGOs at the commission to date—2,200 representatives from more than 400 NGOs.

As the chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, Ms. Dugal worked to focus the committee on promoting [Page 128]partnership between women and men and the role of men and boys in the advancement of women and girls. This focus on the role of men and boys on achieving gender equality was one of the two main themes of this year’s ‎csw CSW‎. This was the first time that the ‎csw CSW‎ addressed the issue of men and boys with regard to the advancement of women. In addition to presenting a statement that stressed the importance of involving men in the process of women’s advancement, the Bahá’í International Community sponsored a workshop entitled “The Role of Men in Overcoming Challenges to the Advancement of Women.”² The other main theme of the commission concerned women’s “equal participation” in conflict prevention and peace building.

The committee also hosted a working luncheon with experts from the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that works on the implementation and monitoring of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). This year, in coordination with the Bahá’í International Community, Leila Rassekh Milani, a spokesperson for women’s issues for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, spoke about the American Bahá’í community’s initiative as chair of the Working Group on Ratification by the United States of the CEDAW Convention, as well as a soon-to-be-published handbook on the Convention that she coauthored, CEDAW: Rights that Benefit the Entire Community.

To celebrate International Women’s Day, the Bahá’í International Community arranged a one-woman show entitled “Pure” with actress Shirin Youssefian-Maanian about the events surrounding the life and death of nineteenth-century Persian poet Ṭáhirih, at the Dag Hammarskjöld Auditorium. The audience included representatives of member states, UN staff, and NGOs.

In December 2003, the Bahá’í International Community cosponsored, with UNICEF, the “South Asia Regional Conference on Education: The Right of Every Girl and Boy.” The National Spiritual Assembly of India organized the conference, which took place at the national Bahá’í center in New Delhi and was held to assist in maintaining the momentum created at the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children. More than 150 governmental officials, international agency representatives, nongovernmental activists, academics, and other civil society representatives participated in [Page 129]the event. Five South Asian countries were represented at the conference: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Many sent government representatives, and all were represented by organizations of civil society, including the Bahá’í communities of each of the five countries.

With its special focus on education, the conference was organized to strengthen and establish networks and partnerships among organizations at every level that are committed to accelerating the goals of eliminating gender disparity and providing universal, quality-based education to every child in the region. The conference was supported by a number of agencies including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Vision India, National Foundation for India, Save the Children UK, the Commonwealth Education Fund, and India Alliance for Child Rights.

The Office for the Advancement of Women has also continued to encourage National Spiritual Assemblies to establish and develop national offices for the advancement of women. These offices assist their respective Bahá’í communities in promoting the full participation of women both in the life of the Bahá’í community and in the world at large. There are currently more than 70 such offices, committees, and task forces throughout the world. The Bahá’í International Community supports them with materials, advice, and guidance, and draws on those who have gained experience at the national level to help represent the BIC at such UN events as the ‎csw CSW‎.

In December 2003, in advance of the “South Asia Regional Conference on Education: The Right of Every Girl and Boy,” the Bahá’í International Community cosponsored an external affairs training session on the advancement of women for representatives from eight National Spiritual Assemblies in Asia: Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The training provided the participants with tools and skills for engaging with other NGOs and like-minded groups to influence the policies of their governments on issues related to gender equality. [Page 130]

World Summit on the Information Society

In recognition of the global nature and tremendous impact and opportunities presented by the explosive growth of information and communication technologies (ICTs), the United Nations held the first part of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, Switzerland, 10–12 December 2003. The Bahá’í delegation was headed by Canadian Bahiyyih Chaffers and included one of the founders of Africa Online, a top-ranked entrepreneur and Internet consultant from Singapore, and a Cisco Systems vice-president.³

Meetings

The Bahá’í International Community held offices on five NGO consultative bodies during 2003–04. In addition to chairing the NGO Committee on Religious Freedom in Geneva, cochairing the Global Forum of the NGO Committee on UNICEF in New York, serving as Vice-Chair of the NGO Committee on Racism in Geneva, and serving as the Secretary of the NGO Committee on Social Development, the Bahá’í International Community was elected chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women. Continuing its engagement on a broad range of issues, the Bahá’í International Community also served on five other NGO committees working at the United Nations.

The Bahá’í International Community’s expertise and involvement have been actively sought out by UN agencies to support numerous initiatives. During the past year, the BIC has participated in panels and programs including “The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality” conference, sponsored by the UN Division for the Advancement of Women, the ILO, and UNAIDS in Brasilia, Brazil, in October 2003; and “Clash or Consensus? Gender and Human Security in a Globalized World,” sponsored by the Women’s Learning Partnership and Global Fund for Women, Johns Hopkins University in Washington, DC, in October 2003.

At the 11th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development in New York, the Bahá’í International Community spearheaded the planning of a reception in anticipation of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005–14). The event was held [Page 131]in cooperation with UNESCO and more than 20 cosponsors. More than 100 attendees took advantage of this opportunity to exchange information and build a coalition supporting the Decade. Among the information booths was one that featured the numerous articles from the Bahá’í International Community’s newsletter One Country.

Other meetings and UN sessions monitored by the Bahá’í International Community this year included the 58th session of the UN General Assembly, the 60th session of the Commission on Human Rights,⁴ and the 42nd session of the Commission for Social Development; the Substantive Session of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); the 56th session of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP); the 55th session of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights; the 29th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women; the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination; and meetings of the Human Rights Committee, the UNICEF/WHO Joint Committee on Health Policy, and the UNICEF Executive Board; the 54th session of the Executive Committee of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ Program; and the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Public Information

Based at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel, with a branch office in Paris, the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information (OPI) oversees and organizes public information activities throughout the worldwide Bahá’í community in conjunction with a network of National Public Information Officers (NPIOS) who carry out the external affairs and public information work of National Spiritual Assemblies.

The Haifa office receives dignitaries and other important visitors to the Bahá’í World Centre. From Riḍván 2003 to 2004, the office arranged 253 special visits for some 2,291 dignitaries, leaders of thought, and prominent people from 81 countries. The visitors covered a broad range of professions and included diplomats, religious leaders, military officials, educators and students, journalists, business people, and members of civil society and nongovernmental organizations. [Page 132]The office received 16 ambassadors from 15 countries as well as government ministers from Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Lithuania, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela.

The office also received film crews, reporters, journalists, producers, and photographers from both local and international television and radio stations. Media coverage centered greatly on the Shrine of the Báb and surrounding terraces.

The terraces have continued to attract attention since they were opened to the public in June 2001. More than two million people have come to the gardens, making them one of the most visited sites in Israel. On average, more than 3,200 people per week take guided tours of the terraces.

The gardens on Mount Carmel were also one of six recipients of the Society of American Travel Writers’ Phoenix Awards in 2003. The awards honor individuals or groups that “have contributed to a quality travel experience through conservation, preservation, beautification, or environmental efforts.”

The award citation noted, “At the turn of the last century (19th), historic Mount Carmel, sacred to Jews, Christians, Muslims, and ‎Baha’is Bahá’ís‎, was nothing more than another desolate hill, rock, and scrub brush. But with the creation of the garden terraces, the once barren face of the mountain that overlooks the city is now a magnificent floral jewel.”

The Office of Public Information’s Paris branch contributes to the work of the Bahá’í International Community by assisting in public information efforts in Europe and the francophone world. This year OPI-Paris created an exhibit titled “Unity in Diversity” that showcased the work of the Bahá’í Faith in promoting unity in Europe. The exhibit was displayed for the European Parliament on two occasions, in June 2003 in Brussels, Belgium, and in February 2004 in Strasbourg, France.⁵ Parts of the exhibit traveled to the UK in March 2004, where they were displayed by the National Spiritual [Page 133]Assembly as part of a Naw-Rúz reception at the British Parliament’s House of Commons. The exhibit’s next stop will be Barcelona, Spain, for the Parliament of the World’s Religions in July 2004.

Another ongoing aspect of OPI-Paris’ work is its support of the BIC’s involvement with the EU, UNESCO, and Eastern Europe’s Stability Pact (formerly the Royaumont Process).⁶ OPI-Paris supports the Stability Pact through its continuing involvement with the project “Promoting Positive Messages in the Media.” This year, activities included launching a new “Happy Hippo” project in Bulgaria. The current initiative will run from March to June 2004 and will include 20 performances in 10 Bulgarian towns.

The Office of Public Information’s publications, both print and Web-based, are intended to provide news and information about the activities of the Bahá’í International Community. The official Web site of the Bahá’í International Community is the flagship site of the Bahá’í presence on the Web and receives an average of 50,000 visitors monthly.⁷ The site contains excerpts from the Bahá’í writings, information about the history and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, and perspectives of the community on issues facing mankind. Links to Web sites of national Bahá’í communities are also available.

The Bahá’í World News Service continued its fourth year of publication via its Web site, receiving more than 60,000 visits per month.⁸

One Country, the official newsletter of the Bahá’í International Community, entered its 15th year of publication. Published quarterly in English, French, German, Chinese, Spanish, and Russian, it reached more than 53,000 readers in at least 180 countries and maintained a presence on the World Wide Web.

During 2003–04, many of One Country’s stories focused on social and economic development and education, with an emphasis on innovative approaches to providing moral education. The January–March 2004 issue carried a report on the APRODEPIT project in Chad, a Bahá’í-inspired project that promotes fish farming and community development.

The July–September 2003 issue carried a feature profile of Russian authors Maria Skrebtsova and Alesia Lopatina, who have published a series of textbooks on moral education that are widely used in Russian public schools. The October–December 2003 issue [Page 134]carried a report on a conference in India, sponsored by the Bahá’í International Community and UNICEF, that examined the right of girls and boys to receive an education; one emerging theme of the event was the importance of moral education. Editorials during the year discussed Bahá’í approaches to issues such as the family and development, the ethics of globalization, education as a right of all children, and the individual and social action.

One Country also won three awards during the year. In March 2004, the Religion Communicators Council presented the newsletter with an Award of Excellence for the story, “In Vanuatu, a proving ground for coconut oil as an alternative fuel.” The story, which ran in the April–June 2003 issue, told of Bahá’í entrepreneur Tony Deamer’s successful efforts to perfect an automobile capable of running on home-grown coconut oil instead of diesel fuel. Communications Concepts also gave One Country two Apex Awards for Publication Excellence for 2004. The periodical won in the “Newsletters: Printed” category, and the perspective piece entitled “The Modern Malady,” which ran in the January–March 2004 issue, won an award in the “Columns and Editorials” category.

NOTES

1 For more information about the current situation of the Bahá’í community in Iran, see the article on pp. 135–40 and the statement by the Bahá’í International Community on pp. 213–19.

2 See pp. 211–12 for the Bahá’í International Community’s statement “The Role of Men and Boys in Achieving Gender Equality.”

3 For a report of this conference, see pp. 119–24.

4 The Bahá’í International Community presented statements to the Commission on Human Rights on the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran and Egypt, which can be read on pp. 213–23.

5 For more about the presentation to the European Parliament, see the article on pp. 113–18.

6 For more information, see The Bahá’í World 1998–99 (Haifa: World Centre Publications, 2000), pp. 145–50.

7 The site can be found at http://www.bahai.org/.

8 The site can be found at http://news.bahai.org/.

9 The site can be found at http://www.onecountry.org/.