VATICAN, (Pakistan Point News - 14th Nov, 2019) Lt. General H.H. Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, delivered a keynote speech on Thursday at the Vatican, as part of the global interfaith conference on "Promoting Digital Child Dignity- from Concept to Action (2017-2019)", held in the presence of His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, and His Eminence Dr. Ahmad Al Tayyeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif.
Sheikh Saif conveyed to the audience the heartiest greetings of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the people and government of the UAE.
On the occasion of the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UAE, the Pontifical academy of Social Sciences,PASS, and the Child Dignity Alliance is hosting the joint ecumenical meeting on the protection of children in the digital world and the responsibility of the religious communities. The conference is organised under the patronage of His highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, with presence of His Holiness Pope Francis, Head of the Catholic Church, His Eminence Dr. Ahmad el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al Azhar Al Sharif, and Queen Silvia of Sweden.
Sheikh Saif expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to take part in such an important event and for the invitation of Pope Francis. "The people of the UAE welcomed His Holiness Pope Francis with joy and happiness last February during his landmark historical visit to the UAE, the first to the region, to an Arab and Muslim country that diligently endeavours to foster peaceful coexistence, and spread tolerance and love," he said.
"The late Sheikh Zayed Al Nahyan, founder of the UAE, has instilled the core values of interfaith tolerance and coexistence in the UAE and his visit to the Vatican in 1951 laid the foundations for the development of common bridges among different cultures, religions and civilisations, an approach echoed and followed by the wise leadership, in its efforts to make the UAE a global beacon of tolerance," Sheikh Saif stated.
"The growing sexual exploitation and abuse of children globally has become a particular source of concern for the future of humanity. It is an unethical and harmful issue that goes against any religious and moral value system," he continued.
Sheikh Saif added, "What unites us as believers is far greater than what divides us. All religious denominations around the world condemn evil and call for cooperation, good deeds and respect for life."
He praised His Holiness Pope Francis and His Eminence the Grand Imam of Al Azhar, for their historic achievement, by signing the joint "Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together" in Abu Dhabi, which is set to become a global reference for "reconciliation and fraternity among all believers and among all people of goodwill."
The UAE, which hosted the first conference of the Interfaith Alliance in 2018, as the most important international supporters of these good efforts and was among the first countries that were keen to host and strengthen the role of influential religious leaders in supporting efforts to strengthen security and stability of the community and fight crimes.
The summit, which is attended by more than 80 international personalities, is a continuation of the global work in the fields of strengthening international efforts and unifying and benefiting from cross-border cooperation, including the ''Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together'', signed by Pope Francis and Dr. Ahmad el-Tayeb, in Abu Dhabi in February 2019 in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.
The Summit also seeks to implement common global perspectives to develop and implement initiatives for tolerance and religious rapprochement and to strengthen the role of religious leaders such as the Interfaith Alliance For Safer Communities: Child Dignity in the Digital World Forum, held in Abu Dhabi in 2018, and the Abu Dhabi Declaration, and the outcome of the 2017 World Digital Child Dignity meeting, which ended with the Rome Declaration.
The first day of the summit was addressed by Queen Silvia of Sweden, Msgr Sanchez Sorondo, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, PASS, and Dana Humaid, representative of the Interfaith Alliance for Safer Communities and focused on the concept of digital child dignity, which the second session tackled action that can be taken by companies, NGOs and other stakeholders to protect child dignity in digital world.
