wfn.org | [PCUSANEWS] Churches take Iraq war concerns to Kofi Annan

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Note #7661 from PCUSA NEWS to PRESBYNEWS:

Churches take Iraq war concerns to Kofi Annan
03180
April 4, 2003

Churches take Iraq war concerns to Kofi Annan

McClure pleads for churches' role in peace, relief efforts

by Alexa Smith

LOUISVILLE - An ecumenical delegation has met with United Nations General
Secretary Kofi Annan to stress the importance of getting humanitarian aid to
Iraqi civilians trapped inside the expanding war zone. 
	
The Rev. Marian McClure, director of the Worldwide Ministries Division (WMD)
of the Presbyterian Church (USA), was the spokesperson for the delegation
that included representatives from Church World Service (the relief arm of
the National Council of Churches), the Quakers, the Anglicans, the Lutheran
World Federation and the Presbyterian Church (USA).
	
The seven-member delegation said it also spoke on behalf of the United
Methodist Church and the Mennonites. 
	
McClure told Annan the needs of Iraqi civilians are being sidestepped by both
U.S. and Iraqi combatants.
	
The delegation also committed the church to supporting the UN's role as the
"most effective and best available means" for global peacemaking.
	
"Humanitarian agencies need to have guaranteed access to civilians - and
protection from both sides," said McClure upon her return to Louisville. "The
church is very involved in humanitarian relief and reconstruction work - and
we need to not mix bombs and bread. We need to keep the roles of the military
and the non-military separate.
	
"The safety of humanitarian workers must not be confused with occupation
forces."
	
According to the Presbyterian United Nations Office, humanitarian agencies
are having a hard time obtaining licenses to operate inside Iraq. The U.S.
military is apparently making those decisions instead of a UN-umbrella group,
as has been the case in the past.
	
Some relief agencies are remaining on the Kuwaiti-side of the border, while
others inside Iraq are having difficulty getting to the places they're
needed. No coordinating authority was established before the war began, the
PCUSA UN Office said. The U.S. military is delivering some assistance, rather
than allowing neutral organizations to do so, sources in the region say.
	
Reading from a prepared text, McClure told Annan: "Non-governmental
humanitarian organizations have diverse specializations. Many of them are
faith-based. These include Action By Churches Together of the World Council
of Churches and the Lutheran World Federation, Church World Service and
related agencies such as Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the United
Methodist Committee on Relief, the Anglican Communion Office and many others.
They continue to reach out to people of all faiths.
	
"We believe that our humanitarian involvement is especially important given
that this war is too often misunderstood as a conflict between Christians and
Muslims. Please continue working to establish the conditions for all NGOs,
including faith-based ones, to reach the vulnerable citizens of Iraq."
	
In addition to access, the delegation raised four other issues: protection of
civilians, human rights monitoring, rapid coordination of rebuilding efforts
in Iraq at war's end and insistence that it's not too late to cease
hostilities and resume inspections and negotiations.
	
The statement said: "Our urgent plea is that international humanitarian aid
through the UN, member states, and NGO's be coordinated so as to lead as
quickly as possible to normal economic and institutional life for Iraqi
society. Without a functional economy Iraq will never be able to meet its
civilian needs. For the economy to return to normal, Iraqis must regain
control over their resources, especially oil, as soon as it is feasible."
	
The delegation also cautioned that Iraqis not bear the primary financial
burden of relief or reconstruction. Specifically, McClure said, the "Oil for
Food" program should not be used to finance Iraq's reconstruction. 
	
Iraq's resources, the delegation said, should be controlled by Iraqis, citing
biblical warnings against "keeping what belongs to another."
	
"A lot of us feel moral anguish about a number of things having to do with
this war, including real concern for the life-long trauma experienced by both
combatants and civilians," said McClure, stressing that ordinary Iraqis have
already suffered greatly under 10 years of economic sanctions.
	
"But there is a real concern for civilians, " she said.
	
PC(USA) Peacemaking Program Coordinator Sara Lisherness told the Presbyterian
News Service that church leaders felt it was imperative to affirm the role of
the UN in the search for peace and global cooperation. 
	
"One of my biggest concerns right now is: How do we move away from what
appears to the rest of the world as a unilateral action of the United States,
supported by a handful of countries, and shift back to cooperation?" she
said. "No country can go it independently for too long."
	
Lisherness said the UN is the one entity that allows smaller nations to have
a voice at the table. While it is an imperfect organization, she said, no
other body has the same legitimacy. "What are the alternatives?"

	

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