wfn.org | WCC NEWS: WCC prepares for UN Advocacy Week

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

>For immediate release - 12/11/2008 08:47:46

>WCC PREPARES FOR UN ADVOCACY WEEK

"As Christians, we are called to stand with those who are
victims of oppression, poverty or violence," Rev. Elenora
Giddings Ivory, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC)
programme on Public Witness said in advance of the WCC's United
Nations Advocacy Week, 16 to 21 November in New York. The
advocacy week, organized by the United Nations liaison office (
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3257 )of the WCC in New York,
brings together over 120 people working on advocacy issues in
churches, national councils of churches, specialized agencies,
regional ecumenical organizations and regional advocacy networks.

This year the group will focus on three advocacy areas:
migration ( http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3123 ), climate change (
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3416 )and Sri Lanka (
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=6059#c22408 ). The week will be
marked by an overarching framework of "Human Rights at 60 Years",
as both the WCC and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
celebrate their 60th anniversary (
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/article/1722/wcc-fellowships-60th-ann.html
)this year.

The declaration is an early example of successful church
advocacy. The Commission of the Churches on International Affairs
( http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3610 ), a consultative body of the
WCC, effectively pressed for the inclusion of the article on
religious freedom – to change one's religion or belief and to
manifest one's religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice
and observance. 

Human rights ( http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=3111 )have been a
priority on the ecumenical agenda ever since. The WCC enables
victims of human rights violations to give testimony. The WCC
contributes to the sessions of the new UN Human Rights Council
with written and oral submissions on issues such as religious
freedom and intolerance, socio-economic and cultural rights, and
issues relating to migration, racism and xenophobia.

“In our work, we try to enact this biblical and theological
mandate from our understanding of where our individual faith
traditions say we should be, but more importantly where Jesus
said we should be", Giddings Ivory said.

If churches want to be heard in the public arena, they need to
speak with one voice, Giddings-Ivory said. While this approach is
hardly new, it is not easy to implement. 

The advocacy week provides a significant moment for churches
willing to address questions of power and structural injustice
through a concerted and coordinated ecumenical approach to
strengthen their networks, agree on priority advocacy issues and
develop common strategies. 

In addition to sessions where participants will deepen their
common understanding of the three key issues, they will have the
opportunity to put designated priorities into action in meeting
with United Nations member states' missions.

The broad constituency base of churches, firmly rooted in the
local but also belonging to a worldwide community, provides an
opportunity for advocacy not only at the United Nations but in
capitals in nearly every country in the world.

Media contact in New York: Elizabeth Lee +1.212.867.5890

More on the United Nations Advocacy Week of the WCC:
http://unaw.oikoumene.org

WCC programme on Public Witness: Addressing Power and Affirming
Peace:
http://www.oikoumene.org/en/programmes/public-witness-addressing-power-affirming-peace.html

Feature article on WCC and public issues:

http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/eng/a/browse/16/article/1722/church-statements-should.html

Additional information:Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical
fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings
together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches
representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110
countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic
Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from
the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva,
Switzerland.