Marrakech to Host Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue

An aerial view of Jemaa el-Fna square and marketplace in Marrakech, Morocco November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo
An aerial view of Jemaa el-Fna square and marketplace in Marrakech, Morocco November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo
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Marrakech to Host Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue

An aerial view of Jemaa el-Fna square and marketplace in Marrakech, Morocco November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo
An aerial view of Jemaa el-Fna square and marketplace in Marrakech, Morocco November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Morocco’s legislature are organizing the three-day Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue: Working together for our common future on June 13 in Marrakech.

The conference will be held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI and will bring together Speakers and members of parliament, religious leaders, representatives of civil society and experts to engage in constructive dialogue and share good practices in addressing key issues standing in the way of sustainable coexistence, according to a joint statement by the organizers.

The meeting is being held in cooperation with Religions for Peace, and with the support of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the Mohammadia League of Scholars.

The conference will offer an opportunity for participants to jointly explore action points for building more peaceful and inclusive societies and to develop a roadmap for joint action, the statement said.

During three days of debate, dialogue and reflection, participants will identify avenues of collaboration in areas such as peace and the rule of law, building a common future, gender equality and youth participation, trust and mutual recognition, solidarity, and inclusion, the statement stressed.

The conference will conclude with the adoption of a declaration.



UN Puts 4th Century Gaza Monastery on Endangered Site List

The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
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UN Puts 4th Century Gaza Monastery on Endangered Site List

The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File
The Saint Hilarion complex dates back to the fourth century. Mahmud HAMS / AFP/File

The Saint Hilarion complex, one of the oldest monasteries in the Middle East, has been put on the UNESCO list of World Heritage sites in danger due to the war in Gaza, the body said Friday.
UNESCO said the site, which dates back to the fourth century, had been put on the endangered list at the demand of Palestinian authorities and cited the "imminent threats" it faced.
"It's the only recourse to protect the site from destruction in the current context," Lazare Eloundou Assomo, director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, told AFP, referring to the war sparked by Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel.
In December, the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict decided to grant "provisional enhanced protection" -- the highest level of immunity established by the 1954 Hague Convention -- to the site.
UNESCO had then said it was "already concerned about the state of conservation of sites, before October 7, due to the lack of adequate policies to protect heritage and culture" in Gaza.
The Hamas attack on October 7 resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has killed at least 39,175 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.