V CONGRESS

We, the participants of the V Congress of the  Leaders Of World And Traditional Religions, are united by the pursuit of peace, accord and cooperation for a better future of humankind, expressing its gratitude to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan His Excellency Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev for the noble initiative of holding the Congress of the Leaders of World And Traditional Religions, all people of

Kazakhstan and his Government for their generosity and hospitality, recognizing the important role of Congress and the contribution of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the promotion of interreligious and intercivilizational dialogue towards peace, justice and security in the 21st century, welcoming global and regional initiatives on interreligious and intercultural harmony, strengthen the dialogue between religious leaders and political leaders, noting the importance of the contribution of world and traditional religions in the development of human civilization through the assertion of spiritual ideals and values, recognizing the important role of religion in the formation of an atmosphere of mutual respect, strengthening of family values and moral upbringing of the younger generation, expressing concern about the growing sectarian and ethnic tension, political

instability and military clashes in different parts of the world, condemning all manifestations of intolerance, including religious one, and radicalism, that resulted in casualties and suffering of the civilian population, stressing that extremism and terrorism have no relation to the true calling of  all religions, reaffirming the commitment to implement agreements in the spirit of the main theme of the V Congress – "Dialogue of Religious Leaders аnd Politicians For Peace And Development", have agreed as follows:

1.    to facilitate dialogue of religious leaders and politicians, international organizations and civil society to ensure stability and security, prevent and resolve conflict, 

2.    to call on all parties around the world involved in conflicts to cease violence, declare a truce and through negotiations reach an agreement to end hostility, protect civilians, and find a peaceful resolution to all contradiction,

3.    to oppose strongly the use of force to resolve any political and religious disagreements at national and interstate levels,

4.    to call on political leaders of world powers to stop the growing abyss of distrust in the world today, to end mutual sanctions and to use the mechanisms of the United Nations and other international organizations, to overcome the divisions and restore peace and security in accordance with international law, 

5.    to facilitate dialogue of religious leaders and politicians based on the principles of equality, justice, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence,

6.    to reinforce the conventional mechanisms and elaborate new ways of interaction between spiritual and political leaders for the sake of sustainable peace and development,

7.    to ensure equal respect for world and traditional religions, for what they consider sacred and for the religious sentiments of believers while acknowledging inalienable human rights to freedom of conscience, opinion, speech and choice,

8.    to respect religious diversity while promoting dialogue between world and traditional religions,

9.    to counter incitement to enmity, hatred and violence under the guise of pseudo-religious rhetoric,

10.   to support efforts to counter extremism and terrorism, striving to root out them while displaying special vigilance to ensure that the fight against extremism and terrorism does not turn into a war against religions and their followers,

11.   to develop further interaction of the Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions with the United Nations, international organizations for security and cooperation and other initiatives to foster global dialogue for peace and development,

12.   to contribute to education of youth laying more emphasis on raising religious awareness, promoting religious tolerance and respect for family values,

13.   to encourage media owners and publishers to cease using their media outlets, including web-based ones, as a tool to incite religious and sectarian divisions, reminding them of their moral responsibility and to advise that they spread a culture of peace, accord and respect among religions, peoples and nations,

14.   to join efforts of religious and political leaders, states and societies alike to address the most pressing challenges of the modern world such as poverty, hunger, epidemic, unemployment and the effects of natural and manmade disasters,

15.   to welcome the initiative of Kazakhstan to host in Astana the Regional conference on countering violent extremism,

16.   to hold the VI Congress of the Leaders of World and Traditional Religions in 2018 in Astana.