wfn.org | LWF General Secretary Commends Religious Groups' Initiatives in

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

LWF General Secretary Commends Religious Groups' Initiatives in Resolving
Conflict in Africa
Much Has Been Accomplished, But a Lot Remains to Be Done

NAIROBI, Kenya/GENEVA, 28 March 2004 (LWI) * Nearly 18 months
after Africa's religious leaders launched an inter-faith
initiative for peace on the continent, much has been accomplished
but a lot still remains to be done in peace building, said the
general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Rev. Dr
Ishmael Noko. 

Conflict continues to hinder efforts for human and economic
development in the East, Central and Horn of Africa region, Noko
told participants in the second sub-regional conference of the
Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa. The initiative was
launched in October 2002 to find strategies for inter-religious
cooperation in curbing the trend of violence on the continent. 

Despite relative stability in some countries, the lack of peace
in other nations remains a major concern, Noko noted. He cited
the escalation of violence in northern Uganda, with the recent
massacre of nearly 200 innocent civilians in a war that has been
going on for 18 years now. He commended the tireless efforts of
religious leaders there working for peace through the Acholi
Religious Leaders' Peace Initiative (ARLPI). 

But the general secretary noted that the perpetrators of the
recent atrocity call themselves the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA),
giving the impression that they were acting in the name of God.
"This is clearly not the God that any of us in this room
believe in. Our faiths are centered on the God of peace, harmony,
love, and of compassion." He called on religious communities
represented at the sub-regional conference to join in condemning
the LRA's acts of violence, and also stand together against the
misuse of religion for political or other purposes. Retired
Anglican Bishop Macleord Baker Ochola II is representing the
ARLPI at the summit.

A decade after the appalling genocide in Rwanda, the Great Lakes
region continues to be a region of great concern, Noko observed.
He described the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) as a complex one, requiring a comprehensive approach as it
implicates several other countries both within and outside
Africa. He saw the DRC situation as a reminder of the need to
link inter-religious peace initiatives in Africa with those
outside the continent if such conflict is to be addressed
effectively. He noted that a planned inter-faith delegation visit
to the DRC in November/December 2003 could not take place due to
logistical difficulties. He urged the sub-regional summit
participants to re-affirm commitment to such an initiative and to
finalize plans for this as yet unfulfilled vision of the
Johannesburg Plan of Action.

The situation in Sudan is also of great concern, Noko noted. The
war that has been raging in that country for more than three
decades has claimed the lives of more than one million people.
Its consequences include extreme violation of human rights,
starvation, internal displacement and the refugee crisis. He
described the current peace process as a sign of hope that
"religious leaders in this region ought to support fully and
actively, to ensure that it is successful and sustainable and
that it results in a just peace." Africa, Noko said, cannot allow
a return to the dark days that Sudan has seen before. The peoples
of Sudan deserve to live in peace and harmony.

Noko cited the dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea as major
concern in the region. Tensions between the two neighboring
countries increased since Ethiopia rejected the decision of the
international and independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary
Commission (EEBC) to return to Eritrea the village of Badme where
the 1998-2000 border war began. The current impasse in the
resolution of the dispute and delay in the implementation of the
EEBC 's findings threaten the peace brought about by the Algiers
Agreement, signed by both countries in 2000. 

The general secretary underlined the international community's
responsibility in ensuring that all parties respect such binding
agreements. He spoke of his February 2004 letter to United
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on behalf of the inter-faith
peace initiative, in which he highlighted the impact of the
specter of war on families and children, and on the country's
development. Noko also commended religious leaders from both
countries for their contribution to mutual understanding and
peace and their courage in establishing and maintaining contacts
with each other in spite of the "very difficult relationship
between the political leadership of both countries," He however
regretted that the inter-faith delegation from Eritrea was not
able to attend the sub-regional summit due to reasons associated
with the current difficulties. 

Noko also spoke of other signs of hope in the continent. Africa.
He cited the establishment of the African Union, inauguration of
the new African Parliament and of an African Court for Human
Rights, and the broad commitment to the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD). Religious leaders, he concluded,
have a major contribution to make in such processes. (814 words)

[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 62.3 million
of the almost 66 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical and inter-faith 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 the 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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