UN Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites

In Unity and Solidarity for Safe and Peaceful Worship

Religious sites are symbols of our history, traditions, and humanity in every country and community across the globe. They must be respected as places of peace and harmony where worshippers and visitors can feel safe. Share your story and show how you stand #forSafeWorship.

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A tour of the oldest church in Portugal’s capital, a Sé de Lisboa

Carlos Fernández, a young multimedia professional working for UNAOC, joins the call to action #forSafeWorship by taking us on a fascinating tour of the oldest church in Lisbon, Portugal, the historic a Sé de Lisboa. The church has survived multiple earthquakes since its completion in 1147. Restoration efforts have added styles from several historical periods, making Sé de Lisboa one of the world’s most architecturally eclectic. “Protecting...

Advocacy Video: Yan Carlos Labrada Abreu (Cuba)

Yan Carlos Labrada Abreu of Cuba, a participant of the UNAOC Young Peacebuilders programme, joins the call to action #forSafeWorship. “Religious diversity is not a threat. On the contrary, through recognizing, respecting and guaranteeing the right to religious freedom, greater equality between people can be achieved,” he emphasized.Share your story today and make your voice be heard! Shoot a short video (1 to 3 minutes) with your smartphone and...

Advocacy Video: Tomás Salvador Céspedes (Argentina)

Tomás Salvador Céspedes, a participant of the UNAOC Young Peacebuilders programme from Argentina🇦🇷, joins the call to action #forSafeWorship. “Embracing diversity allows us to discover shared values and beliefs, reinforcing the idea that the quest for spiritual meaning is inherent in every human being. It is crucial to reject hatred and cultivate an atmosphere of mutual understanding and appreciation of each other’s differences,” he said. Check...

Philippine-based Indie Filmmaker Makes a Stand #forSafeWorship

Do you have a personal connection to a religious site? Then we want to hear from you. Places of worship are meant to be safe havens for people to freely practice their freedom of religion or belief. But in recent years, we have witnessed a tragic surge of attacks on religious sites. That’s why we want YOU to join us in standing up #forSafeWorship. You can contribute to safeguarding religious sites by submitting a video showcasing your personal...

Changing the Framework: Right to Freedom of Religion

In this excerpt from “Changing the Framework”, a documentary produced by Fundación Pluralismo y Convivencia in 2019, youth from Spain between the ages of 14 and 21 years old, from different religious backgrounds, discuss how the right to freedom of religion has evolved throughout the years in Spanish constitutional texts. Fundación Pluralismo y Convivencia is a public organization attached to the Ministry for Presidency, Parliamentary Relations...

Breech’s Nostalgic Tour of a Church in Davao de Oro, Southern Philippines

Today, Breech Harani takes us on a nostalgic tour of a church that's close to his heart. With stunning imagery and aerial views, he shows us the Bible Truth Baptist Church in Compostela, Davao de Oro, Southern Philippines. The place of worship is a thing of beauty for Breech not only because of its sweeping outdoor gardens, but more so because it was there that he developed his spirituality. Take a virtual trek through a tiny church in...

Thaly Eman Finds ‘Home’ Abroad

Thaly Eman of Italy 🇮🇹, recounts how she found ‘home’ in Jewish communities while living abroad. She takes us to synagogues around the world – from Amsterdam 🇳🇱, Siracuse 🇮🇹 and Marrakech 🇲🇦 – where she found a sense of community and strengthened her roots. #forSafeWorshipShare your story today and make your voice be heard! Shoot a short video (1 to 3 minutes) with your smartphone and tell us about your personal connection to a religious site...

Award-winning Journalist and Podcaster Atif Rashid takes us to his local mosque in Surrey, UK

Atif Rashid, an award-winning journalist, podcaster and media producer based in London, joins the call to action #forSafeWorship. He takes us on a mini tour of his local mosque, the Mubarak Mosque of the Ahmadi Muslim community in Tilford, Surrey, United Kingdom. Atif evokes teachings of prophet Muhammad and the Holy Quran, reminding us that it's every Muslim’s duty to stand up for the rights of all religions and the safeguard of all places of...

Joanita Advocates for the St. Augustine Chapel in Uganda

Joanita Nabukeera takes us on a tour of her favorite place of worship in Kampala, Uganda – the St. Augustin Catholic Chapel located on the campus of Makerere University. She shares special memories of her time as a young student and how this Catholic community has guided her through key milestones in her life. Want to learn more about this chapel? Watch her video!Share your story today and make your voice be heard! Shoot a short video (1 to 3...

Desmond Ikechukwu of Nigeria adds his voice to the campaign #forSafeWorship

Desmond Ikechukwu talks about the three major tribes and three major religions of his home country, Nigeria. He underscored that despite their differences, they teach their members to love one another and promote peace for all mankind.Share your story today and make your voice be heard! Shoot a short video (1 to 3 minutes) with your smartphone and tell us about your personal connection to a religious site (why does it matter to you? Why is it...

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About the UN Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites

In March 2019, in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on mosques occurred in Christchurch, New Zealand, the UN Secretary-General requested the High Representative of the UN Alliance of Civilizations to elaborate a Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites, which was launched in September 2019.

Guiding Principles

The United Nations Plan of Action to Safeguard Religious Sites is anchored in the following principles:

Respect

for all peoples, regardless of their faith, culture and history.

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Responsibility

to build bridges of mutual understanding and cooperation.

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Diversity

to accept and respect the differences among human beings.

Dialogue

as a tool to better communicate and engage with one another.

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Solidarity

to support and share compassion for one another, particularly in times of sorrow or trouble.

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Standing together

as one to respond with unity to attempts to divide us.

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Staying together

as one to ensure that unity in response to attacks against religious sites is sustained and reinforced overtime.

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“I will spare no effort in my commitment to working with all relevant actors to ensure the fundamental human right of every individual to freely manifest their religion or belief in their respective places of worship.”

H.E. Mr. Miguel Ángel Moratinos

High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)

An Eight Point Guide to Contributing to the Safeguarding of Religious Sites

Interested to know how you can help? Read this simple 8-point guide. These are just some of the endless things you can do to make an impact!

Read the 8-Point Guide

More Ways to Contribute

We are looking for stories. Your story. To inspire people around the world to join the movement to safeguard religious sites #forSafeWorship.

So tell us your story. Upload a photo. Upload an entire album of photos. Post a series of videos. Embed your tweets. Send us screenshots of your epic social media posts. Write us a song. Pen a poem. Anything. We’d love to read, hear, see, taste, and feel your story.

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We are building a stream of stories and testimonies shared by people just like you! Share a short video with us to inspire people around the world to join the movement to safeguard religious sites #forSafeWorship.

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Join the global call to action #forSafeWorship.

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