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Bahá'í International Community Description Prepared by the Bahá'í International Community United Nations Office New York, USA22 May 1999 History of Active Cooperation with the United Nations
The Bahá'í International Community is a non-governmental organization that both encompasses and represents the world-wide membership of the Bahá'í Faith, including more than five million men and women from over 2,100 ethnic groups and almost every nationality, economic class, trade and profession. There are significant Bahá'í communities in 235 countries and territories, of which 182 are organized as national (or regional) affiliates, with more than 13,000 organized local communities. In its relation to the United Nations the Bahá'í International Community is an association of democratically elected national governing bodies known as National Spiritual Assemblies. The Bahá'í International Community has a long history of involvement with international organizations. At League of Nations headquarters in Geneva, an International Bahá'í Bureau, established in 1926, served as a base for Bahá'ís participating in League activities. In 1945 when the UN Charter was signed in San Francisco, Bahá'í representatives were present. In 1948 the Bahá'í International Community registered with the UN as an international non-governmental organization (NGO) and in 1970 was granted consultative status (now called "special" consultative status) with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Consultative status with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) followed in 1976, and working relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) were established in 1989. Over the years, the Community has also worked closely with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). The Bahá'í International Community has offices at the United Nations in New York and Geneva and representations to United Nations regional commissions and other offices in Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Nairobi, Rome, Santiago, and Vienna. In recent years an Office of the Environment and an Office for the Advancement of Women were established as part of its permanent United Nations Office. An Office of Public Information, based at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa and with a branch in Paris, disseminates information about the Bahá'í Faith around the world and publishes a quarterly newsletter, ONE COUNTRY. Distributed in English, French, Chinese, Russian, Spanish, and German to readers in over 170 countries, ONE COUNTRY covers social and economic development projects, relations with the United Nations system, and global issues of interest to decision makers. Goals and Activities
Bahá'í communities the world over are engaged in activities to help achieve the humanitarian, social and economic goals set forth in the UN Charter. These activities include, but are not limited to, fostering grass-roots participation in sustainable development initiatives, advancing the status of women, educating children, preventing drug abuse, eliminating racism, and promoting human rights education. Over 1600 projects are currently operated by Bahá'í communities around the world, including approximately 300 schools owned and operated by Bahá'ís and at least 400 village tutorial schools. The Bahá'í International Community United Nations Office cooperates as an NGO, sharing its experience, and participating in regular sessions of such UN bodies as the Commission on Human Rights, the Commission on the Status of Women, and the Commission on Sustainable Development. According to its most recent quadrennial report to the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) the Community participated in approximately 150 UN-sponsored meetings between January 1994 and December 1997, offering over 80 statements on a wide range of issues. The Bahá'í International Community UN Office was also fully involved, along with a number of its national affiliates, in the recent series of UN world conferences on pressing global issues and in parallel NGO activities. These conferences included the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in Rio de Janeiro, the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the 1994 Global Conference on Small Island States in Barbados, the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, the 1995 World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen, the 1995 Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the 1996 UN Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) in Istanbul, and the 1996 World Food Summit in Rome. The NGO Forums, held in conjunction with these UN conferences, also drew enthusiastic and substantive Bahá'í participation from all over the world. In its relations with the United Nations, the Bahá'í International Community promotes the principles on which a lasting peace can be built.
Addresses of the Bahá'í International Community United Nations Offices
New York Office Bahá'í International Community Telephone: 1 (212) 803-2500 Geneva Office Bahá'í International Community Telephone: 41 (22) 798 54 00 BIC Document #99-0522 |
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Baháí International Community. All rights reserved. |