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Title	Senegal/Côte d'Ivoire: Information on the Unification Church in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire including membership, structure, objectives, and the attitude of the local population towards its members
Publisher	Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
Country	Côte d'Ivoire \| Senegal
Publication Date	17 March 2003
Citation / Document Symbol	ZZZ41348.E
Reference	7
Cite as	Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Senegal/Côte d'Ivoire: Information on the Unification Church in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire including membership, structure, objectives, and the attitude of the local population towards its members, 17 March 2003, ZZZ41348.E, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3f7d4e472a.html [accessed 5 June 2012]
Disclaimer	This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Senegal/Côte d'Ivoire: Information on the Unification Church in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire including membership, structure, objectives, and the attitude of the local population towards its members

Specific information on the Unification Church in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire Coast could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, the following information may be of interest.

The Unification Church was founded in Seoul, Korea, on 1 May 1954 by Reverend Moon (Unification Church n.d.). "The goal of the Unification Church is to realize the Kingdom of Heaven on earth where God's purpose of creation is fulfilled" (True Parents n.d.).

Information posted on the Website of Reverend Moon's True Parents Organization indicates that another non-governmental organisation (NGO), the International Relief Friendship Foundation (IRFF), founded in 1979 by Reverend Moon "to provide aid to calamity-stricken nations and peoples," is involved in educational and agricultural projects in some African countries, including Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Unification Church. n..d. "The Beginning of the Unification Church." <http://www.unification.net/misc/healing.html> [Accessed 13 Mar. 2003]

True Parents Organization. n.d. "Social Welfare Projects." <http://www.tparents.org/Libray/Religious/Cta/ch/CH4/ch48.htm>

[Accessed 13 Mar. 2003]

Additional Sources Consulted

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2001-2002

International Religious Freedom Report 2002

Unification Church, Toronto

Unification Church, New York

Unification Church, Washington, DC

Internet sites, including:

All Africa

True Parents

Unification Church

United Nations

Search engine:

Google

Copyright notice: This document is published with the permission of the copyright holder and producer Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). The original version of this document may be found on the offical website of the IRB at http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/. Documents earlier than 2003 may be found only on Refworld.

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