Bahá’í World/Volume 33/Bahá’í International Community Activities
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Bahá’í International Community
ACTIVITIES
he United Nations Office of the Bahai’i’ International Com—
munity (BIC) gives voice to the Vision and concerns of the
worldwide Bahzi’i’ community at the United Nations. With more than 5.5 million members in 191 independent countries and 45 dependent territories, Bahé’i’s work for the establishment of a united global community, built on a Vision ofhuman oneness and collective security, and are dedicated to the creation of a spiritual, sustain— able, and ever—advancing civilization. In its diplomatic efforts, the United Nations Office seeks to assist the international community to translate this vision into reality, by lending spiritual momentum to the global processes driving the world towards peace.
The work of the Bahé’i’ International Community’s United Na— tions Office has evolved significantly since it first became involved with intergovernmental processes at the global level. The League of Nations was the first international forum where Bahé’i’s were able to promote their vision and the principles they see as underlying peaceful relations among nations—this through the establishment of the International Bahé’f Bureau in Geneva. At this early stage of its diplomatic engagement, the Bahé’l’ community’s contribu— tions consisted primarily of establishing the independence of the
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Bahé’i’ Faith as a world religion and sharing its central tenets of unity and equality with a nascent global community. Following the founding of the United Nations in 1945, recognition of the Bahé’i’ International Community’s capacity to contribute meaningfully t0 the organization’s deliberations resulted in the granting of special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (1970), the United Nations Children’s Fund (1976), the United Nations Development Fund for Women (1989), and the establishment of a working relationship with the World Health Organization. The United Nations global conferences of the 19905 provided a further opportunity for a deeper and more direct Bahé’i’ engagement and contribution to deliberative processes at the global level.
In recent years, the Bahé’f International Community’s United Nations Office has sought to influence thought and action at the United Nations by bringing its vision and principles directly to bear on the most pressing issues on the organization’s agenda in the form of analysis and comprehensive, concrete proposals for actions and reform. Under the guidance of the Community’s United Nations Office, the capacity of national Baha’t’i’ communities to raise issues with their governmental officials has increased significantly and has thereby supported the work of the Bahé’l’ International Community at the United Nations.
Reform processes at the United Nations
Throughout its engagement with the United Nations, the Bahé’i International Community’s United Nations Office has consistently added its voice to debates about reforms and changes to the organiza- tion. As the calls and proposals for comprehensive UN reform in the face of a dramatically changed global context have reasserted their primacy on the UN agenda, the community has grounded its con— tributions in the understanding of UN reform as part of an organic, evolutionary course characterized by increasing levels of integration and unity in governance structures and processes.
Over the last year, the twin issues of collective security and socio—economic development have dominated the United Nations agenda, fuelled by Secretary General Kofi Annan’s sweeping reform agenda aimed at making the UN :1 more responsive, collaborative,
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and effective organization in addressing the global challenges of the twenty—first century. In the buildup t0 the September 2005 High— Level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly, which will consider reform proposals and review progress since the 2000 Millennium Summit, the United Nations released four seminal reports dealing with UN—civil society relations, collective security, development, and comprehensive reform respectively.1 The Bahé’l’ International Community contributed to the deliberative processes surrounding these themes by inviting Bahé’i’ experts to participate in panel dis- cussions, facilitating civil society contributions to deliberations on UN reform, and submitting concrete recommendations for a more effective United Nations.
One of the Bahé’i’ International Community’s primary areas of engagement in the UN reform agenda has been in addressing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)—a set of eight quantitative targets based on the major goals agreed upon at the UN conferences 0f the 19908, which have been synthesized into a global agenda for development and constitute the organizing framework for UN work in this area.Z In its response to the UN regarding MDGS, the Community’s United Nations Office stressed the importance of universal participation in the development process, the application of knowledge from the fields of science and religion, as well as the need for an earnest re—evaluation of global systems and processes —incIuding governance, trade, and the private sector—that perpetu— ate the growing extremes of wealth and poverty. During the annual UN Department of Public Information NGO Conference, the Bahé’l’ International Community’s United Nations Office spearheaded and cosponsored a panel discussion titled “Getting to Yes for the MDGs,” which explored different ways in which nongovernmental organiza- tions could form effective partnerships for the achievement of the MDGS. During the NGO Forum held in preparation for the annual meetings of the Commission on Social Development, the Bahé’i International Community moderated one of the Forum’s main panel discussions, which addressed the continuing relevance of the comprehensive development agenda generated at the World Summit on Social Development in 1995 to the achievement of the MDGS. In Santiago, Chile, regional representatives of the Bahé’i’ International Community to the UN Economic Commission for Latin America
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and the Caribbean (ECLAC) worked closely with the Conference of NGOS (CONGO) in planning the CONGo—ECLAc—sponsored seminar on “Partnerships for a New Era: Achieving the Millennium De— velopment Goals.” The Bahé’i’ International Community hosted a networking reception on the first evening of the seminar and offered Visits to a Bahé’i—inspired project in the community of Las Condes following the seminar.
The UN’s focus on mechanisms to promote global security through a broader understanding of collective security and the de— velopment of UN working methods better suited to today’s global threats, provided yet another opportunity for substantive input from the Bahé’i’ International Community. In its response to the Secretary-General’s report outlining proposals For UN reform, the Bahé’i International Community supported the UN’s comprehensive approach to collective security and reiterated the Bahé’i’ Vision of a system of collective security within a framework of global federa— tion, in whose favor all nations of the world will have ceded claims to make war. The BIC’s United Nations Office, along with 12 other NGOS, participated in a meeting with Allan Rock, Canadian Ambas— sador t0 the UN, to discuss NGO responses to the report.
In addition to comments on the proposed agenda for UN reform, the UN invited NGOS to submit issues that they deemed important for discussion and that were not already on the agenda at the High— Level Summit in September. In response, the Bahé’i’ International Community stressed the importance of recognizing the individual’s freedom to hold religious belief of his or her choosing and the con- comitant freedom to Change one’s religion or belief. In its statement to the UN, the Bahé’i' International Community stated, “Until all people are free to openly practice and share their beliefs within the parameters of equally applied laws, as well as change their religion or belief system, development and peace will prove elusive.” On a related theme, the Bahé’i’ International Community called on the UN to address religious extremism as a major obstacle to peace and well—being, noting, “Hesitancy to acknowledge and forcefully condemn the religious extremism motivating terrorist acts weakens the effectiveness of the UN’s efforts to bring an end to international terrorism.”
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Human rights
The promotion of human rights continued to be a focal point for the Baha’i’ International Community’s United Nations Ofi‘ice, guided by the belief in the inherent dignity and noble nature of the indi— vidual as well as the equality of all human beings as the prerequisite for a just, prosperous, and sustainable world. This year, the Baha’i International Community held the chair of the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion, Conscience, and Belief (Geneva) and contin— ued its active participation in the NGO Committee Against Racism and Racial Discrimination, the NGO Committee on Human Rights, and the Special Committee of International NGOS on Human Rights (Geneva).
Within its broader work on human rights, the Baha’i Inter- national Community endeavored to protect the rights of Baha’is around the world to practice their own faith, addressing in particu— lar a continuing pattern of persecution of the Baha’i community in Iran. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution condemning the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran, making specific mention of the situation of Baha’l’s. The Community’s United Nations Offices worked closely with external affairs representatives from Canada and other parts of the world to make this possible. This year’s meetings of the Commission on Human Rights, however, failed even to consider a resolution on hu— man rights in Iran. “In view of the sharp increase of human rights Violations against the Baha’i community of Iran, it is nothing less than shocking that the Commission on Human Rights has for the third year in a row failed to renew international monitoring of the situation,” said Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations, in a press release. For three years, while the Commission has not presented a resolu— tion on Iran, the situation has deteriorated, marked by a resumption of violent attacks approaching the levels of persecution experienced 20 years ago.
The Baha’i International Community took the opportunity to submit its recommendations for strengthening the United Nations human rights machinery in response to a request from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to the NGO community for suggestions as to how the Office can more
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effectively discharge its mandate. In terms of structural and function- al reforms, the Bahé’i’ International Community’s United Nations Office called for a strengthened field presence at the country level, increase in the Office’s budgetary resources, and continued levels of substantive engagement with the NGO community. Beyond these reforms, however, it stressed that “the legitimacy of the United Nations human rights machinery can be restored only through an unwavering adherence to the highest principles of justice, includ— ing those elaborated in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
Advancement of women
The work of the Bahé’i International Community towards the ad- vancement ofwomen, one of its core programmatic areas, continued with full vigor, developing external affairs capacity and raising the profile of the Community’s engagement in this issue. As chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women (NGO-Csw), the Bahé’i’ International Community’s Principal Representative played a pivotal role in orchestrating the participation of nearly 600 nongovernmen— tal organizations from all over the world at this year’s Commission on the Status ofWomen. The Community’s United Nations Office provided office space for NGO-CSW staff, facilitating the coordina- tion of this record-breakjng level of civil society participation and effectively coordinating the work of nine dedicated volunteers. The diversity of NGOS, represented by more than 2,700 Civil society participants, brought women’s perspectives and experience to bear on the issues before the Commission and evidenced the strength, increase, and level of organization of women’s advocacy networks worldwide. At this year’s meeting, 191 UN member states reaffirmed their commitment to the ambitious goals articulated 10 years ago at the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, and acknowledged gender equality as a prerequisite for meeting the Mil— lennium Development Goals. Bahé’l’ advocacy in this area continued to stress the pivotal role of men and boys both in advancing the rights ofwomen and in reaping the benefits of a greater equality. As stated by Abdu’l—Baha, “As long as women are prevented from attaining
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their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs.”
The NGO Committee on the Status OFWOmen played a key role in coordinating the contribution of NGOS to the work of the Com— mission. As chair of the NGO Committee, Ms. Dugal organized a Consultation Day for NGOS, reviewing the commitments in the Beijing Platform for Action and assessing progress towards the re- alization of these commitments over the last 10 years. These were supplemented with daily briefings for NGOS. In an effort to recognize individuaIs’ achievements in the area of the advancement ofwomen, the Committee hosted a reception for more than 300 representa— tives of member states, at which it presented Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, with a “Person of Dis— tinction Award.” During the Commission, Ms. Dugal, as Chair of the Committee, was invited to speak at a High—Level Round Table commemorating the 25th anniversary of the CEDAW by the General Assembly as well as at a panel commemorating 30 years of UN efforts to promote gender equality. In her speeches, she acknowledged the momentum and levels of transnational collaboration generated by international conferences but noted the disconnect that exists today between implementation and ideals. She said, “States can no longer be permitted to Shirk from their responsibilities on the pretext of domestic jurisdiction or cultural relativism . . . The full equality of men and women . . . is a prerequisite for the attainment of the very ends the UN was created to serve.”
In January 2005, the Baha’i International Community’s Principal Representative to the United Nations was invited to speak on the subject of women’s role in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and peace building at a conference on gender mainstreaming and the Millennium Development Goals. The conference was held in Islamabad, Pakistan, and was co-sponsored by the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Office and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. As honorary guest speaker, Ms. Dugal emphasized the im- portance of keeping women central to the peace process, including full participation in decision making and implementation during post—conflict reconstruction, peace—building, and peacekeeping processes.
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Social development
With the presence of a new representative in the area of Social Development, the Baha’i International Community’s work in this area expanded markedly during the year in review and was further strengthened by the contributions of invited Baha’i experts.
As a member of the Executive Committee of NGOS for Social Development (with more than 40 member NGOS), Bahiyyih Chaffers took the lead role in managing the process of committee adminis- tration. In this capacity, the Community’s United Nations Office worked closely with the Mission of South Africa to the United Na— tions, the Chair of this year’s Commission on Social Development, to ensure comprehensive NGO participation in the Commission and assisted in organizing a Civil Society Forum preceding the Commis- sion. As a result of this positive relationship, the NGO Forum during the Commission was able to take place at the UN itself, thereby raising the profile of the NGO presence.
The focus of this year’s Commission on Social Development was to review progress made since the groundbreaking World Summit on Social Development in 1995, at which 115 world leaders forged a plan for a comprehensive, “people-centered development,” pledging to focus international development efforts on overcoming poverty, fostering employment, and social integration. Many gathered for this year’s meeting expressed concern that Copenhagen’s compre- hensive Vision of development had been overshadowed by narrower concepts of development and that issues of global security had displaced social justice on the global agenda. In the end, member states issued a declaration upholding the main principles adopted in the Copenhagen Declaration and affirmed that the Millennium Development Goals are “crucial to a coherent, people-centered ap— proach to development.”
During the Commission, Dr. Haleh Arbab Correa, representing the Colombia—based Foundation for the Application and Teaching of the Sciences (FUNDAEC), was invited on behalf of the UN De— partment of Economic and Social Affairs to participate, alongside ambassadors and ministers, in the High—Level Round Table focused on the promotion of full employment. In her comments, Dr. Correa emphasized the role that moral education plays in the construction of a new world. She highlighted the importance of understanding
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education as an holistic process that goes beyond the training ofskjlls to include development of attitudes and concepts—such as service to humanity—that should be taken into consideration in promoting employment. Dr. Correa spoke again at an event, co-organized by the Baha’i International Community and the Subcommittee on the Eradication of Poverty, titled, “Participation Works: International Success Stories in the Fight Against Poverty.” Describing the phi— losophy behind FUNDAEC, a Baha’i—inspired organization working in socioeconomic development, Dr. Correa spoke of the role that science and religion play in development and stressed that “people should not be looked at as problems” but rather as protagonists who, with proper education, can take charge of their own and their community’s development.
In order to expand its participation, and contribution to UN events, the Baha’i International Community has increasingly called on experts within the worldwide Baha’i community, those with specialized knowledge relevant to particular UN—identified themes or events. This year, Dr. Stephen Gonzales, a law professor and lead— ing American expert in conflict resolution, was invited to attend and observe the proceedings of the recently formed United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII). The IG—member Permanent Forum, established in 2000, is an advisory body and sub— sidiary organ of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, with a mandate to discuss indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health, and human rights. It is a unique body within the UN system, represent— ing a transnational cultural community rather than a member state. Given the history of Baha’is’ involvement in community develop— ment work with indigenous populations, the annual meetings of the PFII present a important opportunity to learn more about the central issues of concern from indigenous people themselves.
At this year’s meetings of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, the Baha’i International Community played an ac- tive role in facilitating the involvement of faith communities in the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). Coinciding with its international launch, the Baha’i International Community’s United Nations Offices hosted a consultation to explore the contributions of faith communities to the aims of the
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Decade. Peter Adriance, External Affairs Representative of the United States Bahé’i’ community and co—chair of the Faith Sector team of DESD, led the meeting. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) had identified faith communi— ties as important partners in carrying out the aims of the Decade and supported the meeting by advertising it on the UNESCO Website. The Bahé’l’ International Community co-sponsored two more events during the Commission, which further explored the contributions of faith communities and served to raise the profile and shape a vision of faith community involvement in the Decade.
The Bahé’i' International Community continued to follow the work of the World Summit on the Information Society, which launched its first phase in Geneva, Switzerland, in December 2003. In the Declaration of Principles, 175 member states pledged to “build a people—centered, inclusive, and development-oriented Information Society,” where all can “create, access, utilize, and share informa— tion and knowledge.” In light of the promotion of the principles of the oneness of humankind and its physical incarnation in global systems of communication and administration, the role of infor— mation and communications technologies—particularly issues of equitable access—are paramount. In this year’s Second Preparatory Committee meetings leading up to the Second Summit in Novem— ber 2005, Bahiyyih Chaffers, representing the Bahé’l’ International Community’s United Nations Office, became an active member of the NGO Working Group on Working Methods, which met daily to generate ideas for effective and efficient methods of NGO participa— tion in the conference process.
Meetings
This year, the Bahé’i’ International Community’s Principal Repre— sentative t0 the United Nations was invited, as a leader within her religious community, to participate in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. This marked the first year that the Bahé’i' International Community was represented at this high-level forum. The annual meetings of the World Eco— nomic Forum bring together influential leaders from government (including heads of state), business, academia, nongovernmental
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organizations, media, religion, and the arts to debate challenging issues on the global agenda, identify emerging risks and trends, and search for ways to address them. This year, under the theme “Taking Responsibility for Tough Choices,” participants focused on issues of poverty, climate change, equitable globalization, and good governance. Since the first meeting in 1970, the annual meetings participant base and focus have grown from a strictly market—driven agenda to encompass a growing diversity of actors and issues shap— ing the global economic, social, and environmental situation. It is particularly noteworthy that against the backdrop of a traditionally capitalist and market—driven agenda, the perspectives of religious leaders were given a hearing. Ms. Dugal, one of only three female religious representatives invited to attend, spoke on panels dealing with global governance, gender equality, and values in leadership. She also took part in a cultural event designed to celebrate religious and cultural diversity, titled a “Celebration of Faith.” All four events provided a rich opportunity to introduce concepts from the Baha’i writings and bring these ideas to bear on the challenging issues before the global community.
The Baha’i International Community also continued its active involvement in the World Faiths Development Dialogue, which began in 1998 as an initiative of James D. Wolfensohn, former President of the World Bank, and Lord Carey, then Archbishop of Canterbury, with the aim of facilitating a dialogue on poverty and development between religious leaders and international develop- ment institutions. This year, at the fourth meeting of the World Faiths Development Dialogue, Matthew Weinberg represented the Baha’i International Community before some 60 senior religious, policy, and political leaders from around the globe, who gathered to discuss the future direction of the Dialogue initiative and to map out possible areas for concrete collaboration. In his remarks, the Baha’i representative emphasized that individuals and communities must be regarded as “active protagonists in tracing their own path of development, in creating and applying knowledge—knowleclge that not only enhances material welfare but also deepens human solidarity.” The Baha’i International Community offered its experi- ence of facilitating a policy dialogue on the intersection of science, religion, and development, which has proven usefial in understanding
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how spiritual perspectives can strengthen the theory, practice, and assessment of development.
Public information
Based at the Bethe“ World Centre in Haifa, Israel, With a branch of— fice in Paris, the Bahé’f International Community’s Office of Public Information (0P1) oversees and organizes public information activi— ties throughout the worldwide Bahé’l’ 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 visi— tors to the Bahé’l’ World Centre. From 21 April 2004 to 20 April 2005, the office arranged 298 special visits for some 2,561 dignitar— ies, leaders of thought, and prominent people from 70 countries. Visitors included diplomats, religious leaders, physicians, professors, parliamentarians, researchers, military officials, educators, students, journalists, tour guides, business people, and members ofcivil society and nongovernmental organizations.
The Office received 26 ambassadors from 20 countries as well as other government ministers and officials, including those from Australia, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Finland, India, Latvia, Nigeria, Norway, the Philippines, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sti Lanka and Uzbekistan.
The Office also received film crews, reporters, journalists, produc- ers, and photographers from local and international television and radio stations. Much of the media coverage centered on the Bahé’l’ gardens and the Shrine of the Béb as popular tourist attractions in Haifa.
The Office of Public Information’s Paris branch contributes to the work of the Bahé’l’ International Community by assisting with public information initiatives and training in Europe and the franco— phone world and through continued involvement with the European Union, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), and Eastern Europe’s Stability Pact (formerly the Royaumont Process).3 This year, the Office supported the imple—
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mentation of a new Happy Hippo Show project in Bulgaria, titled “Roma and Juliet,” which promoted interethnic, interreligious, and intercultural dialogue. The project included 20 performances in 11 different towns and involved about 1,100 youth.
The Office’s ongoing efforts to support national Baha’i com— munities in their public information efforts included organizing the 11th annual European Public Information Management Seminar, in Budapest, Hungary, in July 2004. The seminar focused on differ— ent aspects of work with the media and on interfaith dialogue. A total of 60 participants from 28 European countries representing 26 National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies in Europe participated in the seminar.
As part of its partnership with UNESCO for the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence against the Chil— dren of the World, the Paris Office continued assisting European National Spiritual Assemblies and Bahé’i—inspired associations to post their respective projects on the UNESCO Website dedicated to the International Decade.
The Office offered support to various Bahé’f—inspired nonprofit organizations in Europe and also oversaw the production and pub— lication of the French edition of One Cauntry magazine, as well as the European Public Information Bulletin. During the past year, the Office collaborated with the National Spiritual Assembly of France in the production of a Video in English and French, entitled Promot— ing Unity in Diversity, about the two Baha’i exhibitions held at the European Parliament in 2004.4
The Office of Public Information’s publications, both print and Web—based, are intended to provide news and information about the activities of the Baha’i International Community. The official Website of the Baha’i International Community is the flagship site of the Baha’i presence on the Web and receives an average of 50,000 visitors monthly.5 The site contains excerpts from the Baha’i writings, information about the history and teachings of the Baha’i” Faith, and perspectives of the community on issues facing mankind. Links to Websites of national Baha’i communities are also available.
The Baha’i World News Service continued its fourth year of publication via its Website, receiving more than 60,000 visits per month.6
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One Country, the official newsletter of the Baha’i International Community, entered its 16th year of publication. Published quar— terly in English, French, German, Chinese, Spanish, and Russian, it reached more than 50,000 readers in at least 180 countries and maintained a presence on the World Wide \Web.7
One Counny won two awards for issues produced during 2004— 2005, among them a prestigious Grand Award in the APEX 2005 Awards for Publication Excellence, which was given to One Country for overall excellence in the nonprofit, small office category. Just 100 APEX Grand Awards were handed out, in 16 categories, from among 5,000 entries, according to the contest’s organizers, Communica— tions Concepts. 0716 Country also won an Award of Excellence in the columns and editorials subcategory, for its Perspective editorial titled “Literacy and Development,” which was published in the April—June 2004 issue.
During the year, One Country’s stories covered a wide range of activities undertaken by Baha’i communities worldwide. The April— June 2004 issue featured a major story on the efforts of Ugandan Bahé’fs to promote literacy through a distinctive program that also teaches steps towards practical social and economic development. The October—December 2004 issue carried a story on how the Baha’i community of Australia has won appreciation for religious Classes in state schools that emphasize moral values and respect for other cultures. Other issues during the 2004—2005 period covered the Co— penhagen Plus Five and Beijing Plus Five conferences at the United Nations. Ongoing coverage of the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran was another focus of One Country during the period, with three such stories, including a major account of Iran’s efforts to destroy the cultural heritage of the Baha’i community there. Perspective edito— rials during the year discussed Baha’i approaches to re—envisioning collective security and the Challenge of extreme poverty.
NOTES
' The four reports include: We t/ae Peoples: Civil Society, the UN and Global Governance, Panel of Eminent Persons on UN—Civil Society Relationships (June 2004); A More Secure VVorM- Our Shared Responsibiligl, Report of the Secretary—General’s High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change, December 2004); Investing in Development: A Practical Guide to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals, Millennium Project Report to the
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Secretary—General (January 2005); [7; Larger Freedom: Toward; Development, Security and Human Rig/mforAll, Report of the Secretary—General (March 2005).
The eight Millennium Development Goals are: eradication of poverty, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality, reduction of child mortality, improvement in maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, ensuring environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development.
For more information on the 13165 involvement in this initiative, see The Balad’z’ erzl1998—99 (Haifa: World Centre Publications, 2000), pp. 145—150.
For more information, see 7776 Ba/m' ’1’ World2003—2004 (Haifa: World Centre Publications, 2005), pp. 113—118.
The site can be found at http://bahai.org/.
The site can be found at http://news.bahai.org/.
The site can be found at http://www.onecountry.0rg/.