United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called on religious leaders worldwide to challenge “inaccurate and harmful messages” that are fueling hate. In a video meeting with religious leaders, the UN secretary-general warned that “extremists and radical groups are seeking to exploit eroding trust in leadership and feed on people’s vulnerability to serve their own ends."
Religious leaders can play “a pivotal role” in their communities and “deliver solutions to not only address the pandemic, but to recover better (and) promote non-violence and reject xenophobia, racism and all forms of intolerance,” Guterres said. Since the start of the coronavirus, Guterres has reiterated a call for unity and tolerance, including one as recently as last week, when he called on "everyone, everywhere, to stand up against hate, treat each other with dignity and take every opportunity to spread kindness."
The meeting also included remarks from Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a Holocaust survivor and president of the Appeal of Conscience Foundation. Rabbi Schneier affirmed Secretary Guterres’ message, adding that religious leaders “must be in the forefront of countering the hate mongerers in our midst who have invaded social media to disseminate xenophobia, anti-Semitism, bias against minorities and conspiracy theories, exploiting this tragic time for hatred and division.”
“As faith leaders we must fervently denounce and stem the scapegoating, the finger pointing and blaming others,” he added. “We must isolate the lepers of bias, heal the divisions and strengthen those forces committed to uniting a divided human family through mutual acceptance and respect and peaceful co-existence.“
Read UN Secretary General Guterres’ full remarks here:
