Agree to Differ

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The Affirmation of Welcome is read and signed by representatives of the

world’s major religions. UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection,

Mr Volker Türk, also participated in this symbolic signing ceremony

Image: UNHCR/R. Schoeffl

is not contingent upon external funding support. They

remain long after international attention has faded and

funding declined.

Annex: Affirmation of Welcome

From December 2012 through to December 2013, the

document, ‘Welcoming the Stranger: Affirmations for Faith

Leaders’

was signed and endorsed by over 1,700 religious

leaders, members of faith communities and faith-based

organizations worldwide, and formally launched at a signing

ceremony before an assembly of 600 faith leaders at the

Religions for Peace 9th World Assembly on 21 November

2013 in Vienna.

Welcoming the stranger: affirmations for faith leaders

A core value of my faith is to welcome the stranger, the

refugee, the internally displaced, the other. I shall treat him

or her as I would like to be treated. I will challenge others,

even leaders in my faith community, to do the same.

Together with faith leaders, faith-based organizations and

communities of conscience around the world, I affirm:

I will welcome the stranger.

My faith teaches that compassion, mercy, love and hospi-

tality are for everyone: the native born and the foreign

born, the member of my community and the newcomer.

I will remember and remind members of my community

that we are all considered ‘strangers’ somewhere, that we

should treat the stranger to our community as we would

like to be treated, and challenge intolerance.

I will remember and remind others in my community

that no one leaves his or her homeland without a reason:

some flee because of persecution, violence or exploita-

tion; others due to natural disaster; yet others out of love

to provide better lives for their families.

I recognize that all persons are entitled to dignity and

respect as human beings. All those in my country,

including the stranger, are subject to its laws, and none

should be subject to hostility or discrimination.

I acknowledge that welcoming the stranger sometimes

takes courage, but the joys and the hopes of doing so

outweigh the risks and the challenges. I will support

others who exercise courage in welcoming the stranger.

I will offer the stranger hospitality, for this brings bless-

ings upon the community, upon my family, upon the

stranger and upon me.

I will respect and honour the reality that the stranger

may be of a different faith or hold beliefs different from

mine or other members of my community.

I will respect the right of the stranger to practice his or

her own faith freely. I will seek to create space where he

or she can freely worship.

I will speak of my own faith without demeaning or ridi-

culing the faith of others.

I will build bridges between the stranger and myself.

Through my example, I will encourage others to do

the same.

I will make an effort not only to welcome the stranger,

but also to listen to him or her deeply, and to promote

understanding and welcome in my community.

I will speak out for social justice for the stranger, just as

I do for other members of my community.

Where I see hostility towards the stranger in my commu-

nity, whether through words or deeds, I will not ignore

it, but will instead endeavour to establish a dialogue and

facilitate peace.

I will not keep silent when I see others, even leaders in

my faith community, speaking ill of strangers, judging

them without coming to know them, or when I see them

being excluded, wronged or oppressed.

I will encourage my faith community to work with other

faith communities and faith-based organizations to find

better ways to assist the stranger.

I will welcome the stranger.

Founding principles

The call to welcome the stranger, through protection and

hospitality, and to honour the stranger or those of other

faiths with respect and equality, is deeply rooted in all

major religions.

In the Upanishads, the mantra

atithi devo bhava

or ‘the

guest is as God’ expresses the fundamental importance of

gree

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