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UPDATE DECEMBER 2014 Our Facebook page and other information
You may follow our work closely on our Facebook page. You may find the Universal Code as well as its translation and other relevant documents can be found here A new year of funding
We are delighted to inform you that in December 2014 the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs granted a further year of financial support for the Universal Code initiative. This is crucial for our work as it ensures continuity and enables the partners to dedicate themselves to the initiative with renewed vigour. The Universal Code presented in Brussels November 26
The Universal Code was presented at a consultation in Brussels under the title Protecting Holy Sites in Violent Conflicts. Participants included diplomatic missions, EU officials and faith related organisations. In his opening address Ambassador Torbjørn Frøysnes, the Representative of Council of Europe in Brussels, expressed that "The Code of Conduct is a valuable conflict prevention tool and in line with Council of Europe policies". The working group also held a number of bilateral meetings with diplomatic missions and relevant officials in the European External Action Service and EU Commission. Pilot in the Holy Land
The pilot project in the Holy Land, which began in January 2013, is thriving. We have created partnerships with interreligious councils, educational institutions and cultural NGOs and are implementing the following activities to better protect holy sites: • Creating and monitoring a systematic database of attacked holy sites available to interested parties
We have submitted several applications for funding to potential donors and are hoping to receive the positive responses needed to continue and expand the above activities in 2015.
Field project in Indonesia
At the end of May, our new field project in Indonesia started with an event in the Norwegian Embassy in Jakarta. The project will be implemented over 18 months and is being managed from the Search for Common Ground office in Jakarta. Using four pillars—research, media, outreach and institutional dialogue—our approach will rely on the principles of the Universal Code to guide discussions and cooperative actions. After developing a detailed concept note on the project, our partners have started to map out the holy sites as there is no comprehensive survey of those in the country. The partners have also started to develop a comic book and a film which will be used in education.
New field project in Nigeria
A new field project is under way in Nigeria. The Universal Code is seen as highly relevant by religious leaders who are partnering with Search for Common Ground’s local office on its implementation. One main focus of the project will be on education. Cardinal John Onaiyekan and the Sultan of Sukoto are supporting the project and the local partners have established working groups to move the process forward. Further field projects
The Working Group has identified further countries for implementation of field projects and plans to initiate activities in India and Syria in 2015. UN resolution based on the Universal Code
We are continuing our efforts to advance a UN resolution based on the Universal Code. We now have a core group of countries who support the process but we are still waiting for one country to agree to lead it. We intend to double our efforts in 2015 to bring this to fruition. Our partners and their homepages are One World in Dialogue The Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights Search for Common Ground Religions for Peace |