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Statement made to the The International Consultative Conference on School Education in Relation with Freedom of Religion and Belief, Tolerance and Non-Discrimination held in Madrid, Spain November 23-25, 2001.

Mr. special rapporteur, representatives of the Spanish government-our gracious hosts, distinguished colleagues,

On behalf of the world-wide Seventh-day Adventist Church I would like to congratulate the organizers and sponsors for arranging this seminal conference. To seek to prevent the rise of religious freedom violations and intolerance is surely as significant as seeking to redress such actions once they have occurred, and we applaud all such measures that seek the betterment of humanity and the mutual respect of different groups within our many societies.

Our church has been interested in, even preoccupied by, matters of religious liberty-including freedom of conscience, tolerance, compassion, moral values and mutual respect-for the past 150 years since its inception. We have also recognized that education plays a major part in forming attitudes and perceptions, and have dedicated much of our resources to providing quality faith-based education that is based on values and principles that recognize and respect human dignity as sacrosanct. For this reason we have educational systems operating in over 160 countries, with over a million students in more than 6,600 schools, colleges, and universities.

I mention this not to impress but simply to explain our extensive interest in the matters before us at this vital conference. Additionally, in sponsoring a number of religious liberty organizations, we have also worked to educate in this area, and so the importance of inculcating principles of religious freedom in educational curricula is to us so clearly apparent that we have long taught along these lines. We look forward to some definite and practical proposals resulting from this conference that will provide the basis for recommendations for the integrating of principles of religious freedom and human rights in curricula for all national education systems.

To this end we have already prepared some materials that may be of use to participants gathered here. One document is the product of much research and development from Loma Linda University, a prestigious medical institution in California. Another is an ongoing and very practical project in teaching religious freedom principles produced by Montemorelos University in Mexico-available in both English and Spanish. We wish to commit ourselves to doing all that we can to further these inspired initiatives that find their initial focus here at this inaugural conference, and look forward to participating in the development of both the fundamental philosophy and practical materials that are so badly needed in today's world.

Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, United Nations Liaison Director, Seventh-day Adventist Church

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