News Briefs
Episcopal News Service. November 20, 2002 [2002-264-1]
Human rights organizations criticize Palestinians and Israelis for violence
(ENS) Two international human rights organizations have strongly criticized the use of violence on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch charged that Palestinians who order and dispatch suicide bombers are guilty of war crimes and should be brought to justice. At the same time, a report from Amnesty International charged that Israel committed war crimes during a military offensive in the West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus earlier this year.
The Human Rights Watch report said that Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Yasser Arafat bears "significant political responsibility" for the "repeated deliberate killing" of Israeli civilians in the last two years of the current intifada. "The scale and systematic nature of these attacks in 2001 and 2002 meet the definition of a crime against humanity," the report said. "When these suicide bombings take place in the context of violence that amounts to armed conflict, they are also war crimes."
The report also charges that Arafat and the PA leadership have failed to prevent the suicide bombings, or arrest terrorists, and have not worked to defuse the elements that encourage attacks on Israeli civilians.
Amnesty International's report says that Israel carried out "unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment of prisoners, wanton destruction of hundreds of homes," adding that "Israeli authorities have failed in their responsibility to bring to justice the perpetrators of serious human rights violations." The organization has also accused Palestinian suicide bombers of crimes against humanity.
Israel launched its offensive on the West Bank March 29 after a Palestinian suicide bomber killed 29 Israelis. Jenin was the site of heavy fighting with the death of 52 Palestinians and 23 Israeli soldiers. Amnesty also said that the Israeli army had failed to "impartially and thoroughly" investigate events at the Jenin refugee camp. The United Nations, which did conduct an investigation, ruled that there was no evidence of a massacre at the camp.
World Council announces plans for reorganization and staff cuts
(WCC) The World Council of Churches has announced plans to reorganize and reduce staff in its Geneva and New York offices.
"The council, through this reorganization, has manifested its will and its ability to respond constructively to a critical situation," said General Secretary Konrad Raiser. "The adjustment of the internal organization and leadership structure will result in a clearer profile of the WCC's programs and strengthen its cooperation with ecumenical partners."
The budget for 2003 has been reduced by 7.4 million Swiss francs (almost $6 million) and staff will be reduced by 16 full-time equivalent positions to a level of 141, achieved through retirements, relocation of some activities in cooperation with regional partners, and termination of some contracts. The reductions will be accompanied by an income-generating strategy that will focus on assuring the on-going support of current donors while seeking new donors.
The reorganization will sharpen the council's focus on five themes: faith and order; mission and ecumenical formation; justice, peace and creation; international affairs, peace and security; and diakonia and solidarity.
"We hope that these changes in the organization will lead to a period of stability in which the staff, members churches and other supporters of the WCC are able to devote themselves to meeting the global ecumenical challenges before us," said vice-moderator Marion Best after a mid-November meeting of officers and Central Committee members that adopted the changes.
South African leader urges churches to monitor African politicians
(ENI) Speaking at an interfaith peace summit, South African Deputy President Jacob Zuma has invited Africa's religious leaders to play a "key role" in monitoring efforts by political leaders seeking to bring peace to the strife-torn continent.
The mid-October summit brought together leaders from the major religions--Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and African traditional religions--from 21 African countries, according to summit coordinator Ishmael Noko of the Lutheran World Federation.
Zuma said that he hoped the summit would mark "the beginning of a stronger and more effective intervention by the faith community in conflicts plaguing Africa." He noted that the summit convened just three months after the launch of the African Union, an attempt by political leaders to abolish conflicts and wars. He also cited the New Partnership for Africa's Development, a major economic initiative aimed at lifting Africa out of poverty.
"It is important that you also play a key role in monitoring the performance of leaders to ensure that the undertakings they make are implemented for the common good of the continent and all its peoples," Zuma told the religious leaders.
Noko noted the "tragic irony" that religious beliefs had not only failed to prevent violence in Africa but sometimes had been manipulated to stoke violence. He said that the first responsibility of religious leaders "must be to work together to prevent conflict in the name of religion."
WCC delegation learns of pressure on Christians in Pakistan
(WCC) On a pastoral visit to Pakistan, a delegation from the World Council of Churches listened to chilling stories describing the recent spate of violence against Christians in that heavily Islamic nation. The delegation visited Karachi and Lahore to express solidarity with the frightened Christian community and meet with church leaders, lawyers, leaders of the non-governmental and Islamic organizations, politicians, as well as victims of the violence.
A former officer of Pakistan's air force described a recent attack on the offices of a Christian institution in Karachi as "an extreme kind of terrorism never witnessed before--an execution carried out by professionals." Seven young Christian workers were killed.
The overall message the delegation heard was that Pakistan is going through a grave crisis. Feudalism, corrupt politics and repeated military interventions in civil and political life have destroyed democratic institutions and systems of governance. According to members of Pakistan's human rights commission, injustice, poverty, illiteracy and rapid population growth are preventing progress and development. These factors are responsible for the current climate of religious intolerance, hatred and sectarian strife in which human rights violations by both the state and private sector are rampant.
Others pointed out that corrupt and inefficient law enforcement, a complacent judicial system, and lack of accountability have encouraged a climate of violence and impunity. What some observers called a "military tyranny" is driving Pakistan towards further divisions, while the government's preoccupation with military and political matters leaves it little time to address the concerns of ordinary people. Christians, as well as other minorities, are trapped in this situation and subject to discrimination and attacks.
Conference on child abuse and neglect scheduled December 11 in Maryland
(ENS) "The Faith Community's Response to Child Abuse and Neglect" is the focus for a major interfaith conference scheduled for December 11 at the Wilde Lake Interfaith Center in Columbia, Maryland.
The conference is sponsored by the non-profit organization, Prevent Child Abuse Maryland, based in Annapolis, as well as representatives of various faith groups. A slate of speakers from professional and religious ranks will explore the many aspects of the issue, attempting to educate participants about the nature and complexity of the problem. The conference will also discuss current laws on reporting instances of abuse and create a report to be shared with others.
Commenting on the importance and value of the conference, Sherry McCall Ross, youth missioner in the Diocese of Maryland, said, "Issues of child abuse are a reality in our world and must be acknowledged and understood in order for us to be intentional about generating a response. This conference will not only offer an understanding of the issues, but also provide resources to assist those designing and delivering program for children and youth in responding to their needs."
Child abuse is a national problem. Each day in America, an average of 7,883 children are abused or neglected--and five of them die as a result. In the year 2000 three million referrals were made to the Children's Protective Services agencies throughout the country. Almost a third of investigations resulted in a finding that the child had been mistreated or faced a risk of being mistreated.
For more information contact Ross at 800-793-1687 or by e-mail at smccallross@ang-md.org.
Archbishop in Zimbabwe calls on churches to pray for change
(ENI) Roman Catholic Archbishop Pius Ncube of Zimbabwe has appealed to churches in neighboring South Africa to pray for change and to put pressure on President Robert Mugabe to end his onslaught against opponents.
"We appeal to you for prayers to change the situation. We ask you to lobby wherever possible, to apply pressure on Mugabe and his followers to change," the archbishop said in a November 7 lecture at the Durban Catholic Center in South Africa.
An outspoken critic of Mugabe's administration, Ncube has been openly castigated by the president who once accused him of leading the people in the province of Matabeleland to vote for the opposition in the 2000 parliamentary election.
Like much of southern Africa, Zimbabwe has experienced a sever drought and Ncube accused Mugabe of starving opposition supporters to maintain his hold on power. "Men, women and children were and are still being deliberately starved," Ncube said. The government has been accused of politicizing food distribution, favoring card-holding members of the ruling political party.
Many non-governmental organizations in Zimbabwe and abroad have warned that the country is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis. The famine has been exacerbated by government-backed invasions of farms, sabotaging food production and undermining what was once a thriving agricultural industry. The country has slowly been sliding towards anarchy since February 2000 when bands of veterans from the 1970s liberation war launched widespread farm invasions, evicting white commercial farmers.