Bahá’í International Community

Bahá’í International Community
Location of Bahá’í International Community
Location of Bahá’í International Community
B.I.C. representatives meeting with the President of the U.N. Human Rights Commission, 1959.
Established 1948
Official Website https://www.bic.org/

The Bahá’í International Community is the body responsible for representing the Bahá’í community externally on the international level. It also aims to make contributions to international policy discourse by offering insights from the Bahá’í teachings for the purpose of empowering humanity to work effectively toward spiritual and material betterment.[1]

It has offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.[2] It is registered with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization, and has consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council and UN Children's fund, and works with other UN agencies.[3] The senior officer of the Bahá’í International Community is the Secretary-General.[4]

History[edit]

In the spring of 1947 the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States was accredited to have representatives at the United Nations as a non-governmental observer, and a United Nations Committee was appointed to manage Bahá’í relations with the United Nations.[5] In 1948 the eight existent National Spiritual Assemblies were collectively recognized as an international non-governmental organization under the name the Bahá’í International Community with the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States being responsible for supervising the body.[6]

In 1956 it was decided that the Bahá’í International Community should take on some of the tasks previously undertaken by the Bahá’í United Nations Committee, and that the United Nations observer, Mildred Mottahedeh, should consult with the Executive Secretary of the Committee, Horace Holley, to oversee the work of the body.[7] In 1965 the body established its New York offices and John Wade was appointed as the first Secretary-General of the body serving in the role from the Bahá’í World Centre.[8][9] In 1967 the Universal House of Justice assumed responsibility for direct supervision of the body.[10][11]

In 1970 the Bahá’í International Community achieved consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and in 1976 it achieved consultative status with the United Nations Children's Fund. In 1988 it expanded by establishing an Office of the Environment and also became the convener of Advocates for African Food Security, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations established by the United Nations in 1986.[12] In 1989 the body was granted consultative status with the U.N. Development Fund for Women,[13] and in 1992 it established an Office for the Advancement of Women.[14]

In 1995 the Bahá’í International Community was appointed to moderate a discussion at an NGO Forum held in preparation for the United Nations Commission on Social Development.[15] In January 2005 the Bahá’í International Community's Principal Representative was invited to speak at a conference on the role of women in conflict prevention held in Islamabad, Pakistan.[16]

In 2007 the Bahá’í International Community established a Brussels office in Belgium to coordinate its work in Europe,[17] and in 2014 it established an office in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to coordinate its work in Africa and another office in Jakarta, Indonesia.[18][19] As of 2022 an office had been established in Cairo, Egypt.[20]

Secretary-Generals[edit]

Name Served
John Wade 1965 - 1979[21][22]
Donald Barrett 1979 - 1988[23]
Ronald Bates 1988 - 1991[24]
Albert Lincoln 1994 - 2013[25]
Joshua Lincoln 2013 - 2019[26]
David Rutstein 2019 - present[27]

Representative at the United Nations[edit]

Name Served
Mildred Mottahedeh 1948 - 1967[28][29]
Victor de Araujo 1967 - 1990[30][31]
Techeste Ahderom 1990 - 2001[32][33]
Bani Dugal 2003 - present[34][35][36]

Subsidiary Agencies[edit]

Publications[edit]

Some major publications of the Bahá’í International Community, published in the early 1980's.

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ https://www.bic.org/about/about-us
  2. ↑ https://www.bic.org/#offices-map
  3. ↑ https://reference.bahai.org/en/bic.html
  4. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/969/
  5. ↑ Bahá’í World, Vol. 14, p 278
  6. ↑ The Baha'i Faith and the United Nations, Baha'i World, Vol. 12, p 597
  7. ↑ Bahá’í World, Vol. 14, p 280
  8. ↑ Development of the Relationship Between the Baha'i Community and the United Nations, Baha'i World, Vol. 14, p 90
  9. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2000). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 27 (1998-1999), Pg(s) 315. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ https://www.onecountry.org/story/mildred-mottahedeh-first-bahai-international-community-representative-united-nations-passed
  11. ↑ Baha'i News (1979). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 576, Pg(s) 7-11 May 2020‎‎. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ 10 December 1992 message from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies
  13. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2006). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 33 (2004-2005), Pg(s) 148. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1999). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 26 (1997-1998), Pg(s) 40. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2006). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 33 (2004-2005), Pg(s) 149. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2006). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 33 (2004-2005), Pg(s) 153. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1424/
  18. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1124/
  19. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1139/
  20. ↑ https://www.bic.org/news/bic-cairo-cop-27-shares-egyptian-bahai-communitys-development-activities
  21. ↑ Redman, E. The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald Press, London. pp 68-69., p 334.
  22. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2000). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 27 (1998-1999), Pg(s) 315. View as PDF.
  23. ↑ Bahá’í World, Vol. 20, p 123
  24. ↑ Redman, E. The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald Press, London. pp 68-69., p 334.
  25. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/968/
  26. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1357/
  27. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1357/
  28. ↑ The Baha'i Faith and the United Nations, Baha'i World, Vol. 12, p 601
  29. ↑ https://www.onecountry.org/story/mildred-mottahedeh-first-bahai-international-community-representative-united-nations-passed
  30. ↑ Baha'i News (1979). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 576, Pg(s) 7-11 May 2020‎‎. View as PDF.
  31. ↑ Baha'i World, Vol. 29, p 269
  32. ↑ One Country, Vol. 2, Iss. 4, p 3
  33. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/222/
  34. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/222/
  35. ↑ https://www.weforum.org/people/bani-dugal
  36. ↑ https://bahai.works/index.php?title=File:Bahai_Canada_Vol16_No4.pdf&page=37
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 37.2 37.3 https://www.onecountry.org/story/institute-studies-global-prosperity-joins-family-agencies-bahai-international-community
  38. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1822/bic-new-york-new-book-contributions-discourse-equality

References[edit]

  • Publications listed in Collins, W. P. (1990). Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Babi and Baha'i Faiths 1844-1985. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-315-1. p 52-53.

External links[edit]

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