wfn.org | UN Commission on Human Rights: LWF Concerns

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

UN Commission on Human Rights: LWF Focus on Anticipated War in
Iraq, Israel-Palestine, Caste-Based Discrimination
LWF Raises Concerns about the Politicization of Commission's Work

GENEVA, 17 March 2003 (LWI) - At the 59th session of the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF) will be closely following the Commission's
deliberations on the Iraqi situation, the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict, caste-based discrimination, as well as questions related
to people's economic and social rights.

"This will be a make or break year for the Commission," said Mr
Peter Prove, LWF Assistant to the General Secretary for
International Affairs and Human Rights. "Politicization of the
Commission's work has strained the system almost to breaking
point," he noted.

Other key concerns for the LWF during the March 17 to April 25 UN
Commission include religious freedom, and a possible resolution on
the situation in Zimbabwe.

Prove said the LWF will be actively supporting possible action by
the Commission on caste-based discrimination and "analogous forms
of inherited social exclusion." The LWF has spoken out against all
forms of social discrimination based on religion, race or gender
in many international forums. A strong LWF delegation that
included representatives from India's Dalit community,
participated in the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.

The Iraqi situation has remained high on the LWF's agenda,
including at its annual governing body, the LWF Council, which
last met in September 2002. In addition, several of the LWF member
churches have individually voiced protest against a military
solution to the Iraqi situation, calling for concerted efforts to
use dialogue and the United Nations' mechanisms to peacefully
resolve the crisis.

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the LWF and its member
churches continue to advocate for an end to violence, and to the
senseless killing of both Palestinians and Israelis through
suicide bombings and attacks by the Israeli military forces.

The UNCHR consists of 52 member states of the United Nations. It
is the peak international forum on human rights issues, law and
policy.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is LWF's information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where
the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the
material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

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