wfn.org | WCC: "Road map"

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World Council of Churches
Update UP-03-28
For Immediate Use
6 June 2003

Church leaders question "road map" to peace in the Holy Land, call for
increased European involvement in negotiations

Cf. WCC Press Release PR-03-21, 2 June 2003

"While we welcome the initiative to bring Israelis and Palestinians together
again to negotiate peacefully a two-state solution, the 'road map' now
officially launched fails to incorporate critical issues and internationally
recognized human rights and humanitarian law," stated Salpy Eskidjian, World
Council of Churches' (WCC) international affairs staff. Eskidjian shared the
assessment in a meeting held on 5 June between representatives of the WCC's
Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (WCC/CCIA) and French
church leaders with Colin de Verdihres, secretary general of the French
Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and Reni Roudaut, counsellor for religious
affairs in the French foreign ministry.

Peter Weiderud, WCC/CCIA director, shared with de Verdihres that "We expect a
strong involvement of France and the European Union" because some of the core
issues "have international implications and should not just be left to the
two parties directly concerned." Jerusalem, he noted as one example, is a
holy place for three world religions as well as central to Israelis and
Palestinians. In addition, any agreements reached on the return of refugees
and on settlements, which are based on the principles of international law,
would have implications in other refugee situations and cases of occupation.

Eskidjian noted that the status of Jerusalem, all settlements, and borders,
and a just resolution of the refugee issues are left to later stages of the
proposed process. She noted that other key issues are not mentioned in the
"road map" at all, including the separation fence being built in the West
Bank. In addition, the clear establishment of monitoring and enforcement
mechanisms, and the incorporation of human rights standards under
humanitarian law, need to be addressed.

The meeting at the French foreign ministry also covered concerns in the
aftermath of the Iraq war. Jean-Arnold de Clermont, president of the French
Protestant Federation, noted the need for the churches to continue their
strong engagement with governments and others in civil society to strengthen
their respective roles in a multi-polar world.

De Verdihres encouraged the churches, as part of civil society, to engage
politicians in such debates, as no sector has the monopoly on knowledge or
wisdom. In particular, he encouraged debate in civil society as well as at
the government level, on how to manage crises similar to the one in Iraq.

The meeting followed a morning of discussion between French protestant and
orthodox church leaders and members of the WCC staff and CCIA. The leaders
concentrated on the need to strengthen effective international, multilateral
institutions and the role churches can continue to play in post-war Iraq and
in ensuring a just peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

For further information, please contact the Media Relations Office,  tel: +41
(0)22 791 64 21 / 61 53

**********

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which
meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in
1948 in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary
Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

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