wfn.org | CHURCH LEADERS MEET ANNAN ON IRAQ, URGE SIGNIFICANT U.N. ROLE

["Carol Fouke" <cfouke@ncccusa.org>]

CHURCH LEADERS MEET WITH KOFI ANNAN ON IRAQ, URGE SIGNIFICANT U.N. ROLE

May 25, 2004, NEW YORK CITY b Church leaders who met with United Nations
Secretary General Kofi Annan Monday (May 24) said they are convinced that
international involvement is Iraqbs only chance for lasting peace and
security and that the United Nations is the organization rightfully to take
that role.

bWe hope that President Bush will not just repackage the occupation, but
that he will welcome significant involvement by the United Nations, giving
the U.N. an independent role and not impeding its ability to function,b said
the Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the New York-based National
Council of Churches USA, who led the 11-member international delegation.

bThe increasing chaos in Iraq makes clear that the U.S. government needs to
change course,b Dr. Edgar said.  bWe hope President Bush goes public with
the Administrationbs apparent realization that the peace the United States
seeks can only come with genuine international participation.b

The delegation included church leaders from the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom and Europe, and had support from the World Council of
Churches, Middle East Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of
Churches as it went into the meeting with Secretary General Annan.  

Religious leaders in the group had opposed going to war against Iraq, Dr.
Edgar acknowledged.  bBut now, people who were for the war and people who
were against the war need to come together to find an alternative way out of
the current situation.b

The religious leadersb 40-minute meeting with the U.N. Secretary General
came as President Bush prepared an evening televised address on U.S. Iraq
policy, and as the U.N. Security Council was discussing a new resolution
defining the role of the United Nations in Iraq following the transfer of
sovereignty to an Iraqi interim government on June 30.

bWebll be watching for indications that the transition to Iraqi sovereignty
is genuine and complete,b Dr. Edgar said.  bWe expect that the resolution
will foster the integrity and unity of Iraq, specify who does what in terms
of security, and make clear the role of the United Nations.  The resolution
needs to give the U.N. a clear mandate supported by the international
community, including the United States.b

In the meeting, the Rev. Dr. Keith Clements, General Secretary of the
Conference of European Churches, based in Geneva, Switzerland, shared the
bdeep longing for a multilateral approach that has marked Europe since World
War II.  It has been frustrating for us that the United Nations has not been
allowed to play its role in Iraq.  In Europe there is tremendous support for
a U.N. role.b	

The church leaders discussed with Secretary General Annan how they
constructively could contribute to building lasting peace in Iraq and
elsewhere in the world.  While religion sometimes fosters conflict and
intolerance, they agreed, the problem is not with faith but with some of the
faithful.  

Religious leaders need to emphasize the importance of building a culture of
tolerance, and to teach peace, dignity and respect for human rights, they
agreed.  Furthermore, as faith groups often note, weapons of mass destruction
and terrorism are not the worldbs only problems, but also poverty, disease
and environmental degradation.	

In the meeting, the church leaders offered Secretary General Annan a pastoral
word.  bYou are in our prayers,b Dr. Edgar assured the Secretary General. 
bThese are difficult times.  We wish you strength and courage at this
critical moment when your leadership is most needed.b

The Rev. Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the Chicago-based Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America and President of the Lutheran World Federation, in
an interview following the meeting, said it is important to recognize that
sustained peace means not just the end of violence but also the end of
poverty and human suffering.  

The future of Iraq rests on the willingness of the United States to join with
the international community, he said.	bCan the United States give up
enough economic, military and political control enough to allow for the
transition?b

Said the Rev. Dr. Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian
Church (USA), Louisville, Ky., bClearly the United Nations is ready and able
to provide leadership in Iraq.	This will be good for the United States, Iraq
and the world.	The churches we represent would greatly welcome the U.N.bs
leadership role.b

The church leaders pledged to offer educational resources about the United
Nations to their members.  This is a considerable constituency, they noted:
The NCCbs 36 member churches include nearly 45 million adherents in more
than 100,000 local congregations nationwide.  

The leaders also pledged to talk with their own governments about the
importance of multilateral collaboration in Iraq.  Dr. Antonios Kireopoulos,
NCC Associate General Secretary for International Relations and Peace, New
York, said, bWe are at a crossroads and it is up to the United States and
the United Nations to convert this moment of opportunity into an active plan
with international legitimacy to give a chance for lasting peace in Iraq.

bPresident Bush, in his remarks Monday night, signaled a move toward such a
plan,b he said.  bWe hope the specifics bear out this hope.b

In addition to Clements, Edgar, Kireopoulos, Kirkpatrick and Hanson, the
delegation included Bishop Vicken Aykazian, Washington, D.C., Ecumenical
Officer, Armenian Orthodox Church Diocese of America; the Rev. Dr. Karen A.
Hamilton, General Secretary, Canadian Council of Churches, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada; the Very Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, Ecumenical Officer, Orthodox Church
in America, Syosset, N.Y.; the Rev. Michael E. Livingston, Executive
Director, International Council of Community Churches, Frankfort, Ill.; Mr.
Paul Renshaw, Coordinator for International Affairs, Churches Together in
Britain and Ireland, London, England; Mr. James Winkler, General Secretary,
General Board of Church and Society, United Methodist Church, Washington,
D.C.

-end-

NCC Media Contact: Carol Fouke, 212-870-2252; cfouke@ncccusa.org