Archive feature · Geneva, 1999

A shared appeal against religious violence.

The Geneva Spiritual Appeal brought religious and civic representatives together around three principles: do not justify violence, discrimination or domination through religion or spiritual authority.

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Geneva
October 1999

Historical overview

The Geneva Spiritual Appeal

In October 1999, Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim representatives met in Geneva with leaders from secular humanitarian and international organizations. Their discussion addressed a difficult question: how can religious communities help prevent faith from being used to support violence or exclusion?

The meeting took place within a longer tradition of international efforts to reduce suffering and conflict. The resulting appeal was signed on 24 October 1999, in connection with an interfaith service held on United Nations Day.

Rather than treating religion as automatically peaceful or automatically harmful, the appeal recognized that religious identity can be manipulated in conflict. It called on leaders and organizations to reject that misuse while protecting the positive moral resources found in many traditions.

Reading this page today

This is an archived account of a 1999 initiative. Its historical date is part of the subject; the principles can still be considered as an educational framework for discussions about conscience, pluralism and peace.

Context

Why the initiative mattered

Interfaith meetings often focus on cooperation and humanitarian concerns. The Geneva gathering also examined the responsibility of religious communities when faith is presented as a reason to harm, exclude or control others.

The appeal followed earlier international peace traditions, including the Hague Peace Conference of 1899 and the Geneva Conventions of 1949. Those references placed the 1999 initiative within a wider history of attempts to establish shared standards during conflict.

Representatives from several religious communities and civil society organizations participated in related services and discussions. The event therefore combined theological reflection with a public commitment to human rights and peaceful coexistence.

A useful question

Belief and responsibility

A tradition's teachings and the actions of people who claim that tradition are not always identical. Careful analysis asks how beliefs are interpreted, who has authority to interpret them, and whether a claimed religious justification conflicts with principles of human dignity.

This approach avoids blaming an entire community for the actions of particular actors. It also avoids overlooking the real effects of religious rhetoric when it is used to legitimize hostility or unequal treatment.

Read about religious tolerance

Reader guide

Questions about the appeal

When was the Geneva Spiritual Appeal signed?

The appeal was signed on 24 October 1999 in Geneva.

Which communities were represented?

The historical account identifies Buddhist, Christian, Jewish and Muslim representatives, alongside participants from secular civil society and international organizations.

Was the appeal a treaty or law?

No. It was a public ethical appeal, not a binding treaty or domestic law.

What problem did it address?

It addressed the use of religious or spiritual authority to justify violence, discrimination, exclusion or domination.

Does the appeal reject religion?

No. It calls on religious and spiritual communities to take responsibility for how their authority is used and to support human dignity and cooperation.

Where can I explore related subjects?

See the pages on attaining peace, religiously motivated hostility, religious freedom and religion and violence.