80 senior religious leaders from more than 20 countries have called on G8/G20 leaders meeting in Ontario, Canada to honour their commitments to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by taking concrete action to halt poverty, armed conflicts and protect environment.

“We urge the political leaders to consider first the vulnerable among us, particularly our children, and to work together to address the dehumanizing scourge of poverty and injustice, and practice and promote care for our common environment, the Earth.”

The religious leaders issued the challenge in a statement titled: A Time for Inspired Leadership and Action, released at the end of their annual world summit held in Winnipeg Canada, June 21-23, just ahead of the G8/G20 summits.

"Acknowledging our common humanity and embracing the imperative to treat all persons with dignity, we affirm that no one person is more or less valuable than another," said the statement.

They called on leaders to take courageous and concrete actions:

• to meet the immediate needs of the most vulnerable while simultaneously making structural changes to close the unacceptable growing gap between rich and poor;
•  to prioritize long-term environmental sustainability and halt the harmful acceleration of climate change while addressing its impacts on the poor; and
• to work for peace and remove factors that feed cycles of violent conflict and costly militarism.

Read full statement here...

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