UN JOINS BAHA'IS TO IMPLEMENT NEW WORLD ORDER by Mary Ann Budnik The UN World Summit for Social Development and the Nongovernmental Forums (NGO Forums) being held March 6th-12th in Copenhagen, Denmark, bring together a new set of players. Of the 776 NGOs attending the summit, only 33 are pro-life NGOs. Although, not surprisingly, the NGO listing is very intriguing. Representation is heavily Third World with India, Bangladesh, South America, and Africa sending the bulk of the NGOs. The United States, unlike the UN conference in Cairo, is sending few. Frances Kissling and her Catholics for a Free Choice, of course, will make an appearance, as well as Dr. Daniel Maguire and his Religious Consultation on Population, Reproductive Health, and Ethics. Maguire's main financial support, the Ford Foundation, will also be visible. Another entry is the Mellon Foundation. Three groups in particular bear watching because their focus is the theme of the summit-one-world religion and one-world government. The first is the World Scientific Spiritual Party of India. This group "promotes humanist and universal brotherhood by persuading world leaders to establish a world government, or a federation or parliament of the world, based on politico-spiritual ideas." The second NGO of this sort is the New World Order Development. But the most significant group is the international Baha'i delegation. Although classified as a religion, the Baha'i International Community registered in 1948 with the UN as an international nongovernment organization (NGO). It is sending 17 National Spiritual Assemblies from the countries of Albania, Austria, Brazil, Finland, France, Greece. Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Besides these, it is sending two Regional Spiritual Assemblies from the Czech/Slovak Republics and from Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldavia. It seems strange that while the NGO list heavily favors Third World countries, the official Baha'i delegations are from the West. Could the large number of NGOs coming from India, where the largest concentration of Baha'is reside, be fellow members? Why is this summit so important to the Baha'i faith? A Precursor To understand its involvement, let's first consider the purpose of the UN. "A major purpose of the United Nations is 'to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.' The general assembly, the Economic and Social Council, along with the council's commissions, the secretariat, and the specialized agencies, are the organs primarily responsible for action in this field."[1] Let's compare the UN's purpose to Baha'i beliefs. In the UN NGO accreditation documents, the Baha'is explain their belief in the "oneness of humanity, and its supporting concepts such as equality of women and men, world citizenship, the abolition of prejudice, universal education, , and the protection of the environment." Their founder, Baha'u'llah, gives a more complete explanation: "For a global society to flourish . . . it must be based on certain fundamental principles. They include: the elimination of all forms of prejudice; full equality between the sexes; recognition of the essential oneness of the world's great religions; the elimination of extremes of poverty and wealth universal education; the harmony of science and religion; a sustainable balance between nature and technology; and the establishment of a world federal system, based on collective security and the oneness of humanity."[2] The UN and the Baha'is complement each other. But the above descriptions of purpose of the Baha'is are not quite complete. The actual purpose of their religion and their mission is the institution of a one-world religion (the Baha'i religion) and one-world government. "Recognition of the oneness of mankind , must be universally upheld." According to its publications, "The worldwide Baha'i community has long supported the United Nations, an institution which many Baha'is see as a precursor to the New World Order called for by Baha'u'llah."[3] The Baha'is' relationship to the UN is so intimate that their Office of Public Information is located at the United Nations Plaza. This alliance actually began prior to the founding of the League of Nations. Abdu'l- Baha, the son of the founder, personally worked for the founding of the league. He called President Woodrow Wilson a "wonderfully visionary man." To reciprocate such support, the League of Nations helped the Baha'is in 1929 to reclaim their founder's house in Baghdad where Baha'u'llah had lived in exile. In 1948, only two years after the first session of the UN, Baha'i International was granted not only NGO status with the UN, but that same year it also became affiliated with the UN Office of Public Information. The Baha'is believe that all difficulties can be resolved through consultation and agreements reached through consensus. Voting is rarely used in their internal communities. Likewise, the UN attempts to follow the same philosophy. "Those who drafted the United Nations charter believed that many areas of economic and social cooperation, while requiring an intergovernmental approach, could be more effectively covered by relatively autonomous functional organizations. Consequently, it was assumed that international cooperation in this field would find expression in a great variety of governmental organizations. Of these, those with 'wide international responsibilities' were to be brought into relations with the United Nations as specialized agencies "[4] In 1970, the Baha'i International Community was granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. It has a similar status with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and is also affiliated with the UN Environment Program (UNEP). According to its information sheet, the Baha'i faith "has representatives with the United Nations in New York Geneva, and Nairobi. Local Baha'i communities are encouraged to support the UN's various humanitarian projects. The Baha'i International Community participates in meetings of UN agencies concerned with human rights, social development, the status of women, the environment, human settlement, food, science and technology, population, the law of the sea, crime prevention, substance abuse youth, children, the family, disarmament, and the United Nations University." In return, the protection of its members is a concern of the UN. In 1981 the UN Subcommission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities passed a resolution drawing attention to the persecution of Baha'is in Iran; 48 were killed in Iran that year. By 1985, the UN General Assembly condemned Iran for human rights violations against the Baha'is. In 1985 the Universal House of Justice (the ruling body of the religion) issued , a 192-page book which was distributed to all the world leaders. "In 1987, the Baha'i International Community and five national Baha'i communities were recognized by the United Nations with the 'Peace Messenger' award, a prize in recognition of contributions by nongovernmental organizations during the 1986 UN International Year of Peace."[5] In 1992 the Baha'i Vocational Institute for Rural Women in Indore, India, received the Global 500 Award from the UN Environmental Program. "Humanity's Impending Transformation " Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i faith, based his New World Order on these points: * Recognized and secure borders for all nations; * Freedom of travel and thought for all peoples; * A general disarmament; * The establishment of a world federation of nations; * The establishment of a world tribunal for the adjudication of international disputes * The creation of an international military force capable of enforcing the peace through the principles of collective security; * A commitment to the protection of cultural diversity. Shoghi Effendi, grandson of the founder, wrote in 1936: "Unification of the whole of mankind is the hallmark of the stage which human society is now approaching.... World unity is the goal toward which a harassed humanity is striving. Nation-building has come to an end. . A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental principle of its life."[6] For Baha'is, the New World Order "covers the full range of human activities, from the social and political realm to the everyday relationships in our cultural, spiritual, economic, and community lives. It is both an internal and an external reordering.... The emergence of this order can be seen in thousands of ways: the century-long trend toward greater equality for women and minorities; in the century-long trend toward greater economic justice and the . "Baha'u'llah foresaw all of these trends. He spoke of humanity's impending transformation and promulgated a framework of principles and ordinances that could promote social progress in this new age. "The New World Order can only be built upon the deep comprehension of humanity's spiritual reality-a reality that lies at the very essence of our beings. "It is the spiritual world that is the source of those human qualities that engender unity and harmony, that lead to insight and understanding, and that make possible cooperative undertakings. Among such qualities are love, courage, vision, self-sacrifice, and humility. Essentially spiritual in nature, these qualities form the invisible yet essential foundation of human society."[7] Why is this spirituality accepted by the UN but the Holy See's spirituality ridiculed? A World Script Let's take a look at the New World Order as it was explained in 1930 by Shoghi Effendi to Baha'is of the West. It gives flesh to the vision of a one-world government: "This world commonwealth must, as far as we can visualize it, consist of a world legislature, whose members will, as the trustees of the whole of mankind, ultimately control the entire resources of all the component nations, and will enact such laws as shall be required to regulate the life, satisfy the needs, and adjust the relationships of all races and peoples. "A world executive, backed by an international force, will carry out the decisions arrived at, and apply the laws enacted by this world legislature, and will safeguard the organic unity of the whole commonwealth. A world tribunal will adjudicate and deliver its compulsory and final verdict in all and any disputes that may arise between the various elements constituting this universal system. "A mechanism of world intercommunication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvelous swiftness and perfect regularity. A world metropolis will act as the nerve center of a world civilization, the focus toward which the unifying forces of life will converge and from which its energizing influences will radiate. A world language will either be invented or chosen from among the existing languages and will be taught in the schools of all the federated nations as an auxiliary language to their mother tongue. A world script, a world literature, a uniform and universal system of currency, of weights and measures, will simplify and facilitate intercourse and understanding among the nations and races of mankind. "In such a world society, science and religion, the two most potent forces of human life, will be reconciled, will cooperate, and will harmoniously develop. The press will, under such a system, while giving full scope to the expression of the diversified views and convictions of mankind, cease to be mischievously manipulated by vested interests, whether private or public, and will be liberated from the influence of contending governments and peoples. "The economic resources of the world will be tapped and fully utilized, its markets will be coordinated and developed, and the distribution of its products will be equitably regulated. "National rivalries, hatreds, and intrigues will cease.... The causes of religious strife will be permanently removed.... Destitution on the one hand, and gross accumulation of ownership on the other, will disappear. "A world federal system, ruling the whole earth and exercising unchallengeable authority over its unimaginably vast resources, blending and embodying the ideas of both the East and the West, liberated from the curse of war and its miseries, and bent on the exploitation of all the available sources of energy on the surface of the planet, a system in which Force is made the servant of Justice, whose life is sustained by its universal recognition of one God and by its allegiance to one common Revelation-such is the goal toward which humanity, impelled by the unifying forces of life, is moving."[8] The International Body In an interview, Tom Yale, the Springfield, III., Baha'i custodian, elaborated on the Baha'i plan to draw all nations together. This plan includes the elimination of all types of prejudice-race, class, sex, even prejudice in language. They use inclusive language. On a city bus, the Baha'i ad reads, "One religion, one-world government, and one humankind." Humankind is a buzzword in the draft documents. Yale explained that humanity has reached the collective maturity to do away with prejudice, and since humanity has also evolved from the unity of family, to the unity of the tribe, to the unity of the city-states, it is only logical to now evolve to unity on a global scale. "We regard the UN as being a precursor to world government where every nation of the world gives up a little of its sovereignty to be better able to cooperate with its neighbors, and to work for the betterment of all the peoples of the earth. This will eliminate war." When asked to describe the form of one-world government, Yale explained, "There will be a chief executive elected by representatives of the different countries of the world. It would be a lot like the American form of government. Besides the chief executive, there will also be the judicial and legislative branches." Mike Lang, the local Baha'i information officer, offered additional information. He remarked: "There is a need in the world for some type of international governance. The UN lacks teeth. [In the New World Order], individual nations will remain autonomous and maintain order within their own borders. They will celebrate their own ethnic background, but all the nations will ultimately answer to the International Body. Baha'u'llah's writings talk about an event that will be a precursor to the formation of the world government. We do not know specifically what it is other than it is some catastrophic event. It is not necessarily bloodshed, but more likely an that will form the countries of the world into one-world government." Lang continued with the Baha'i vision of the future: "We believe that there will be two types of peace. The first is called the Lesser Peace. It will be a political peace and could come by the end of this century. The Baha'is will not be part of the making of this peace. The second peace is called the Most Great Peace. During this period of peace, which will last 1,000 years, people will live according to the will of God. There will be unity." Lang also described the government of the Baha'i religion. He made an interesting comment. Recently, the House of Justice, the infallible governing body of nine men, issued an unprecedented invitation for the Spiritual Assembly of the U.S. (a nine- member board) to meet with it at the International Headquarters in Haifa, Israel. What urgency brought about that invitation? A Spiritual Vision? Considering the Baha'is' beliefs and their alliance with the UN, let's consider their impact on the upcoming UN World Summit for Social Development. Prior to the summit, various programs were held in preparation. Oct. 28th-30th, 1994, a seminar on the Ethical and Spiritual Dimensions of Social Progress was organized by the secretariat in Bled, Slovenia. The governments of Austria, France, and Switzerland defrayed the travel costs of the participants. This meeting sounds like a Baha'i initiative. Did the Spiritual Assemblies of Austria, France, and Switzerland take an active role? Did they lobby their governments to pay the expenses? The summit itself is at the level of heads of state. The two-day meeting of the leaders of the world is preceded by meetings attended by the personal representatives of the heads of government. The draft document begins, "For the first time in history, at the invitation of the United Nations, we gather as heads of state and government to recognize the significance of social development and human well-being for all and to give to these goals the highest priority both now and into the 21st century." Point n. 3 explains: "" Since when are the UN and the heads of government interested in the spiritual needs of the people of the world? The attacks by the UN and its publications on the Holy See and the Catholic Church in Cairo were so crude, so mean-spirited that it is difficult to take their concern for the "spiritual needs of individuals" seriously, especially when Frances Kissling and Dan Maguire are invited back to attack the Church again at this summit. Point n. 12 says that "we are witnessing in countries throughout the world the expansion of prosperity for some, unfortunately accompanied by an expansion of unspeakable poverty for others. This glaring contradiction is unacceptable and needs to be corrected through urgent actions." Under goals we read: "We, heads of state and government, are committed to a political, economic ethical, and spiritual vision for social development." What is this "spiritual vision" that keeps cropping up throughout the document? Because it is so vague, there is no opposition to it. Goal (G) which is pending and will be discussed at the summit is not only controversial but a tenet of the Baha'i faith. It wishes to "promote more equitable distribution and income and greater access to resources through equity and equality of opportunity for all." Social justice is an important Baha'i concern. Baha'u'llah "wrote extensively about the necessity of promoting economic justice and proposed specific remedies to help control the extreme inequalities of wealth in human society. [9] "Equity and equality for women" are Baha'i buzzwords which along with the empowerment of women are addressed throughout the UN document. Disarmament is another Baha'i concern. We read in n. 18: "The negative impact upon development of the production and trade in arms must be addressed." Baha'is are not interested in the overpopulation debate. But the radical overpopulation groupies are still pushing their doomsday concerns about mythical overpopulation at this summit. The heads of state claim to "launch a global drive for social progress and development embodied in the following commitments: We commit ourselves to create an enabling economic, political, social, cultural, and legal environment that will enable people to achieve social development." How can this be accomplished apart from a one-world government? "We commit ourselves to the goal of eradicating poverty in the world, through decisive national actions and international cooperation, as an ethical, social, political, and economic imperative of . Formulate or strengthen as a matter of urgency, and preferably by the year 1996, the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty, national policies and strategies geared to substantially reducing overall poverty in the shortest possible time, and reducing inequalities, and to eradicate absolute poverty by a target date to be specified by each country in its national context." If you think taxes are high now, just wait. The UN is trying to set the target date of 1996 for debt cancellation or at least reduction for Africa and possibly other Third World countries. This concern for the Third World does not carry over to the World Bank that holds loans hostage until countries enforce family planning programs on their citizens. They plan to "ensure that . . . taxation systems are fair, progressive, and economically efficient, cognizant of sustainable development concerns, and " They also intend to "explore new ways of generating new public and private financial resources . . . through the appropriate reduction in excessive military expenditures including global military expenditures and arms trade, investments for arms production and acquisition." Point n. 23 explains that "the eradication of poverty cannot be accomplished through antipoverty programs alone, but will require democratic participation in order to ensure access for all to resources, opportunities, and public services (to redistribute wealth and income to eliminate existing inequalities)." Isn't this Marxism? Pages and pages of the draft and the Program of Action espouse the agenda of the Baha'is. This Program of Action is the implementation of a one-world government. A List Of Radicals Other radical NGOs attending the summit include the Bonded Labor Liberation Front of India, the Coalition for a Strong United Nations, Earth Action Network, the Global Commission to Fund the United Nations, the International Antinuclear Movement, the International Federation of Liberal and Radical Youth, the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, Parte Communiste Francais, and Plutonium Free Future. Sprinkled in are feminist and family planning groups; agriculture and environmental groups; and labor groups. Surprisingly, only the Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria is registered. For the casual reader, the documents may appear to promise "a brighter tomorrow." That is why one pro-lifer who attended PrepCom III kept saying, "Mary Ann, it's really a good document! It's not like Cairo at all." But things are not as they seem. A comprehensive reading of The Baha'is (A Profile of the Baha'i Faith and Its Worldwide Community) and the UN draft and Program of Action will disclose that they are identical in all aspects. Look again at the list of radicals attending the summit. Are you willing to give up your freedom to a one-world government based on a pseudo one- world religion? ENDNOTES 1. , vol. 22 p. 710a. 2. , p. 77. 4. , vol. 22 p. 710b. 5. The Baha'is. p. 72. 6. , p. 54. 7. , p. 74. 8. , p. 75. 9. , p 29. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The electronic form of this document is copyrighted. Copyright (c) Trinity Communications 1994. Provided courtesy of: The Catholic Resource Network Trinity Communications PO Box 3610 Manassas, VA 22110 Voice: 703-791-2576 Fax: 703-791-4250 Data: 703-791-4336 The Catholic Resource Network is a Catholic online information and service system. To browse CRNET or join, set your modem to 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and no parity, and call 1-703-791-4336. ------------------------------------------------------------------- .