JEDDAH: Responsible leadership is the main pillar in establishing justice and harmony among all countries, said Muslim World League (MWL) Secretary-General Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa.

Addressing religious and political dignitaries, intellectuals and human rights activists at an MWL conference on responsible leadership at the UN headquarters in New York, he said the league will donate $1 million to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

He also underlined the MWL’s readiness to take part in a number of UN projects designed to improve needy people’s quality of life worldwide.

The conference discussed topics related to enriching human life physically and spiritually. One such topic was “a return to civility in public discourse” amid increased divisions.

Participants also tackled the widening gap between rich and poor in developed and developing countries.

They called for policies that provide effective economic gains for the poorest and most marginalized communities.

They also called for environmental protection and sustainability worldwide so future generations are not jeopardized.

Participants emphasized the importance of faith as a factor uniting the peoples of the world instead of dividing them.

They underscored the importance of eliminating breeding grounds that produce such groups as Daesh, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and neo-Nazis.

The conference also discussed gender equality, and all agreed that inequality between women and men hinders countries’ advancement. Participants called for an environment that helps empower women.

Al-Issa thanked all the participants for their presence and interaction, and expressed hope that everyone will cooperate to promote peace, tolerance, justice and mercy for a better future for humanity.