2003 YEARBOOK: THE CHURCHES AND SOCIETY
International Affairs
Decade to Overcome Violence
Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI)
Globalization
Racism
Ecumenical Focus on Africa
Confronting HIV/AIDS

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Since September 11 public discussion of the search for peace and reconciliation has been complicated by subtleties of meaning. The concepts of “defence” and “security” have been strained to justify military reprisal and deprivation of individual rights. The line becomes ever finer that divides a positive international engagement from a domineering form of globalization.

Through its programmes, the WCC has been intensifying its capacity for constructive responses to and peaceful resolution of wars and armed conflict. The consequences of globalization are being called into question from the point of view of an affirmative theology of life. Continent by continent and country by country, various ecumenical offices employ a variety of tools to address international conditions. Among these tools are pastoral visits to churches and national officials, advocacy through confidential representations to governments, public statements and appeals, studies and reports by ecumenical teams of observers, ecumenical delegations, and the constant practice of monitoring, analysis and interpretation. Networks are also built to provide more effective participation in decision-making by frequently disenfranchized groups, including women, youth, racial and ethnic minorities, members of minority churches and religions, indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities.

Since its founding, the World Council of Churches has worked closely with the United Nations in international relations. The Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, and its UN office in New York, maintain a network of care and social action as they interact with such key UN agencies as UNHCR, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNEP, UNDP, UNCTAD, ILO, FAO and WHO. In March and April 2002, the WCC and several ecumenical partners were active during the 58th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights. During the session, the WCC worked especially closely with the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Franciscans International and the Dominicans in bringing before the commission the churches’ concerns on human rights. In statements submitted to that body, representatives of the WCC called particular attention to issues of civil, religious and political rights, the practice of torture and detention, as well as the plight of Dalits in India, internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka, and immigrants in the detention centres of Australia. Additional country-specific issues were raised by the WCC in regard to rights violations in West Papua, Indonesia, Pakistan, Israel and Palestine, Sudan, Nigeria, Haiti, Guantanamo Bay and Colombia as well as in other nations.

Through its regional desks and partnerships, the WCC continued to address situations and relationships throughout the world. In April 2002, the tensions in Palestine and Israel were highlighted through the visit of a delegation led by WCC associate general secretary Georges Lemopoulos that met with the patriarchs and heads of the churches and Christian communities of Jerusalem. Because of confrontational conditions and “security” regulations, meetings could be held only in Jerusalem. An attempt by the group to march to their churches and communities in Bethlehem was stopped in its tracks by the tanks, weapons and soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces. At the close of its visit, the WCC delegation condemned the ongoing loss of Palestinian and Israeli lives, victimization of civilians, racist security policies, provocative language and indiscriminate killings including those by suicide bombers. Consistent with the 2002 emphasis of the Decade to Overcome Violence, the delegation also called for an end to Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, insisting that, in fact, “Israeli security is dependent on Palestinian freedom and justice”.

In early 2002, global media were primarily focused on the invasion of Afghanistan and the overthrow of the Taliban government in reaction to the presence of Al Qaeda facilities and operatives in that country. Later in the year, world attention turned to Iraq and the increasing pressure by the United States on the United Nations to initiate hostile action against the government of Sadaam Hussein.

By September, the WCC central committee was calling upon the Iraqi regime “to respect the resolutions of the UN security council, including demands that it destroy all weapons of mass destruction and related research and production facilities, to cooperate fully with UN inspectors deployed to oversee compliance, and to guarantee full respect of the civil and political, economic, social and cultural human rights for all citizens”. At the same time, the central committee warned the governments of the United States and United Kingdom against a pre-emptive invasion of Iraq, calling instead on the “international community to uphold the international rule of law, to resist pressures to join in pre-emptive military strikes against a sovereign state under the pretext of the ‘war on terrorism’, and to strengthen their commitment to obtain respect for UN security council resolutions on Iraq by non-military means”.

On 15 October 2002, WCC general secretary Konrad Raiser wrote to the members of the UN Security Council in support of a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Iraq. He reported that there were “numerous voices of Christians around the world, who, committed to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the prophetic vision of peace, strongly believe that pre-emptive war against Iraq is illegal, immoral and unwise”. He concluded, “The WCC joins its voice with church leaders and Christian communities around the world, especially from the USA and UK, praying that you focus your attention on addressing the root causes of this conflict and put an end to the dire humanitarian crisis in Iraq and the Middle East region as a whole.”

Much of the international work of the World Council of Churches may be seen to be closely tied with such programme emphases as the Decade to Overcome Violence, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine/Israel, the Ecumenical Focus on Africa, and programmes addressing such issues as globalization and HIV/AIDS.

The Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace (2001-10) is a programme emphasis calling churches, ecumenical organizations and people of good will to work together at all levels for peace, justice and reconciliation. As an initiative of the World Council of Churches, the Decade is a global movement. It attempts to strengthen existing peace networks as well as inspire the creation of new ones.

The Decade is conceived as a movement of the churches growing out of their sensitivity, commitment and creativity in specific situations of violence and struggle for life. The WCC understands its role as facilitator of this process, not only by assisting and supporting people involved in the programme, but also by analyzing, interpreting and challenging the responses of the churches to violence.

Four themes have been identified for study and reflection during the Decade. They are:

A study guide based on these themes is now available for use in congregations and small groups. The text may be downloaded from the web, or printed copies can be ordered.

One particular effort under the auspices of the Decade was a March 2002 consultation bringing to Geneva women from all regions of the world and different faith traditions. “Women in Conflict Situations – Peace with Justice: Women Speak Out!” was organized with the WCC women’s programme, WCC Inter-Religious Relations and Dialogue, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Conference of European Churches. The meeting focused on alternative ways in which women deal with conflict and work for peace and reconciliation. The gathering also reflected on the aftermath of September 11 and aspects of the “war against terrorism” that continue to put some communities at risk.

The WCC launched an interactive DOV website in December 2002. Anyone interested in peace-building and non-violence, irrespective of religious, denominational or regional affiliation, can participate and find partnership with others who have responded to the call.

Each individual year within the Decade may be assigned a regional or national focus for special study and action. In 2002, DOV supported an ecumenical campaign on the theme “End the Illegal Occupation of Palestine: Support a Just Peace in the Middle East”. This emphasis was closely allied to the implementation of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.

The WCC is currently focusing coordinated action and advocacy through its Decade to Overcome Violence on an ecumenical campaign to end the illegal occupation of Palestine and on the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI).

The mission of the EAPPI is to accompany Palestinians and Israelis in their non-violent actions and concerted advocacy efforts to end the occupation. Participants in the programme monitor and report violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, support acts of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli peace activists, offer protection through their non-violent presence, engage in public policy advocacy and, in general, stand in solidarity with the churches and all those struggling against the occupation.

Seventeen international accompaniers from five different countries - Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Norway and the United States - began work in August 2002. They have served in East and West Jerusalem, the West Bank cities of Ramallah, Bethlehem and Nablus, as well as in Gaza.

While it is coordinated by the WCC, the EAPPI is first and foremost an ecumenical initiative that brings together churches and church-related organizations in Jerusalem with WCC member churches and WCC-related ecumenical organizations who have asked to be part of the EAPPI. As part of WCC work in the region, meetings were also held with ACT International on efforts for a more comprehensive coordination of ecumenical emergency and advocacy responses.

Ecumenical delegations participated in three major conferences during 2002 that were aimed at analyzing and challenging significant aspects of the current international order. Raising fundamental questions about economic globalization from differing perspectives, the conferences followed this sequence:

“Another World Is Possible” was the theme of the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre. Issues of globalization, official development assistance and world debt were addressed by an ecumenical team that included the WCC, the Ecumenical Alliance for World Action, the Lutheran World Federation, and the Latin American Council of Churches. A number of Brazilian churches and religious agencies were involved, as were envoys from Muslim and Shinto organizations. Within the framework of this non-governmental, non-party and non-confessional event, the WCC presented a series of workshops on “A Spirituality of Resistance” and reported the contributions being made by churches and their partners to changing an unjust world order.

While the WSF made no claim to be directly representative of governments or civil society, the International Conference on Financing for Development, in Monterrey, issued a document on fair trade and debt cancellation that was the product of representatives of national governments. The so-called “Monterrey document” had been agreed beforehand by a preparatory committee (“Prepcom”) meeting at the UN headquarters in New York. An ecumenical team including the WCC was the largest NGO group at the Prepcom meeting, but its members reported feeling frustrated and pessimistic as they watched creative suggestions blocked by representatives of the United States and other Western powers. At the Monterrey ICFD meeting, ecumenical speakers appealed for a more “people-centred approach” in future as the world community continues to seek means towards the alleviation of poverty and the democratization of such institutions as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization. Beyond that, the team decried what it perceived as governments’ lack of urgency in the face of misery and starvation. In terms of concrete relief for the poor and economically burdened, distressingly little had been accomplished. If ecumenical participants arrived in Monterrey with feelings of frustration, they departed with deep disappointment at unfulfilled expectations.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg was a second “earth summit”, following the first in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. Once again, an ecumenical team assembled; among its participating organizations, the World Student Christian Federation provided breaking news of the conference via its website. In Johannesburg, the ecumenical team was involved in sponsoring three events:

The WCC underlined its position that “sustainable development” is not as helpful a goal as “just and sustainable communities”, the latter signifying an economic order that benefits and empowers all. Ecological responsibility cannot be seen in isolation from economic realities, and the failure of Monterrey to produce significant resources for assistance greatly hampered the potential of Johannesburg. So long as richer nations persist in framing development within the context of global trade and investment, justice will be deferred or denied by a dominant, wealthy minority. When all of civil society approaches equal participation in the discussion, progress will become more likely.

RACISM

In 1992, the WCC launched an ecumenical study on racism that came to its climax in 2001-2002. An initial product of the study, “The Dossier: Understanding Racism Today”, was prepared in time for the UN World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. Held in Durban, South Africa, in late August/September 2001, much of what transpired at the conference was quickly overshadowed in the public mind by the events of 11 September and their aftermath. One year later, participants in the ecumenical study on racism issued a research document to the WCC central committee: “Being Church and Overcoming Racism: It’s Time for Transformative Justice”. This document takes particular pains to examine racism within the churches themselves, identifying theologies and other ideologies rooted in religion that have supported social injustice. This study echoes the pledge of the 1998 “Common Understanding and Vision” document when it pledges that the WCC will not “turn away from the judgment that every form of racism, also in its own life, is contrary to the word and will of God”.

The Women Under Racism (WUR) programme was one of the WCC’s ministries to ethnic minorities including Indigenous Peoples, Dalits and the marginalized in every land. One focus in 2002 was a Latin American leadership training workshop in Guatemala on the Bible, gender, race and class. Racism was also a key concern in the programmes of international affairs and the Decade to Overcome Violence.

The study presented to the central committee, “Being Church and Overcoming Racism”, after reviewing a number of specific examples of churches repenting their racial sins, concludes that there can be no one prescription for recovery from racism: the particularities of each situation demand a unique acknowledgment of the other’s dignity and movement towards reconciliation.

ECUMENICAL FOCUS ON AFRICA

The Special Focus on Africa to which the WCC committed itself at the Harare assembly in 1998 continues a long involvement in efforts to assist Africa in reconstructing itself. This programme emphasis offers a framework in which churches in Africa may join in a common “journey of hope” and invites the global ecumenical movement to accompany Africa on this journey.

Through the Special Focus on Africa and its Africa Reconstruction Programme, the WCC has sought to engage churches in Africa in answering critical challenges to the ecumenical movement in the 21st century, especially on issues of governance, peace and conflict resolution, economic globalization, HIV/AIDS and inter-religious relations.

It is imperative for the church in Africa to contribute the ethical component of a broader vision of Africa in the 21st century. For example, the ecumenical movement is challenged to respond to the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), to ensure that NEPAD does not remain a preserve of a small political elite but grows into a popular movement for all African people. A conceptual paper, “The Calling of the Churches and the Urgency of Reconstruction in Africa”, is being used to deepen dialogue between church and society in Africa concerning the vision and implications of NEPAD. A consultation to formulate an initial ecumenical response was organized in the summer of 2002 to coincide with the launch of NEPAD in Durban, South Africa.

As has been observed, Konrad Raiser led a delegation to the Horn of Africa in July 2002. There was considerable dialogue on the relationship of the ecumenical movement to Africa. Another ecumenical journey in Africa took place following a report issued by UNHCR and Save the Children (UK) on sexual abuse of refugee children in West Africa. Representatives of the WCC, ACT International and LWF travelled to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, emerging with a report and realistic recommendations for support and protection of the refugees.

Nearly a hundred church educators and ecumenical leaders from 25 countries in Africa met in Johannesburg in September at a conference, “Journey of Hope in Africa Continued”, organized by the WCC. The conference allowed a critical evaluation of theological education and ecumenical formation to develop new ecumenical leadership, which is vital for the continent as well as for the African churches.

To give greater visibility to the Focus on Africa, the programme was moved to the general secretariat in November 2002 and will be coordinated by a director who serves the general secretary as special representative for Africa.

The WCC acknowledges HIV/AIDS to be the most critical health challenge currently facing the world. It is also, arguably, the greatest challenge to prospects for social and economic development and global security. This is especially true in sub-Saharan Africa, but South Asia, Eastern Europe, the Caribbean and other parts of the world are also seriously and increasingly affected.

The ecumenical movement has been highlighting the HIV/AIDS issue since the onset of the epidemic, working not only on making churches “healing communities” of practical support and information, but challenging churches to break their silence on addressing the disease and to ensure the protection of human rights of persons affected directly or indirectly by HIV/AIDS.

Following a global consultation on the ecumenical response to HIV/AIDS in Africa convened by the WCC in Nairobi in November 2001, the council set up the Ecumenical HIV/AIDS Initiative in Africa; it addresses HIV/AIDS from theological, spiritual, ethical, cultural, gender and socio-economic points of view. The emphasis is on prevention, care, training, counselling, treatment and advocacy. A plan of action has been distributed to all member churches in Africa, and to interested churches and church organizations in Europe and North America.

A WCC delegation addressed the UN general assembly’s special session on HIV/AIDS in June 2002. The WCC was also instrumental in facilitating a common statement to the UN by a consortium of faith-based organizations.

Efforts are being made to mobilize churches in Eastern and Central Europe on community-based health care initiatives, HIV/AIDS challenges and responses, policy on the healing ministry, rational drug networks and issues of access.

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