By Musa Harun
The Sultan of Sokoto and Co-President of the Religion for Peace World Council, Saad Abubakar III, has called for an immediate end to the ongoing hostilities in Gaza, which has resulted in numerous deaths and starvation, particularly among women and children.
The Sultan made this call during the one-day World Council meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey.
The meeting, which takes place every five years, brought together faithfuls of various religions, including Hindus, Bahai, Catholics, Anglicans, Jews, Muslims, and Orthodox Coptic Church representatives from over 60 countries.
The Patriarch of the City of Constantinople, His All Majesty Bartholomew 1, delivered a keynote address, emphasizing the need for a global alliance of conscience and restoration of original value systems to achieve peace and social harmony.
During the meeting, Sultan Saad examined the impact of huge debt burdens on the economies of developing countries and recommended immediate debt cancellation for low-income countries to tackle wealth imbalance, abolish past exploitative policies, and reduce poverty.
The Council meeting concluded with a set of nine resolutions, including a call for world leaders to halt the genocide in Gaza immediately.
The resolutions were unanimously agreed upon by the august body.
The Religion for Peace World Council is an inter-religious organization of the United Nations, and its next General Assembly meeting is scheduled for Abu Dhabi in 2030.