WCC NEWS: Colombia: Bolstering ecumenical peace-building

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World Council of Churches - News

BOLSTERING ECUMENICAL PEACE-BUILDING IN COLOMBIA

For immediate release: 24 February 2011

A half century of civil conflict fuelled by drug money and corporate
hegemony has left Colombia with tens of thousands dead and the second
largest population of displaced people (approximately 4 million) in the
world.

It has also left a country and society aching for justice and peace.

Finding a peaceful alternative to this long-running conflict was the main
motivation for the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches
(WCC) to approve a statement calling for an increase in ecumenical
peace-building already taking place in the country.

According to the statement, “indigenous people, Afro-Colombians, farmers,
human rights defenders, journalists and church and community leaders
seeking land restitution and justice” become victims of incalculable
cases of killings, threats, arbitrary arrests and detentions by public
officials and non-state actors are some of the most painful consequences
of the conflict in Colombia.

“It is important to see this document connected to our focus on peace
and justice, especially as we prepare for the International Ecumenical
Peace Convocation” that will take place in Kingston, Jamaica in May,
said the moderator of the Central Committee, Rev. Dr Walter Altmann from
Brazil, reflecting on the context of the statement’s approval in the
life of the WCC.

The intention of the statement is to bolster ongoing peace efforts there
while it expresses “solidarity and prayers for the Colombian people,
especially the families of those who were killed, disappeared or displaced
and expresses deep appreciation to all who have already made Colombian
peace initiatives a priority”.

Statements from the WCC Central Committee provide a formal way for the WCC
to express itself with a common voice

“Churches are not some kind of a lobby group advocating for one or
another issue,”said Rev. Aaro Rytkönen, the director of advocacy for
Finn Church Aid and a Central Committee member. “Churches are the body
of Christ speaking together for a common concern.”

“When there is an issue which is being felt by one or another church on
the grassroots level, there is a need for churches together to raise that
issue up also on the global platform,” he said.

As an expression of ecumenical support to the Colombian churches, civil
society organizations and ecumenical development agencies working in the
country, the Colombia statement urges the Colombian government to continue
the necessary normative and policy changes “to ensure the investigation,
prosecution and punishment” of those responsible “for human rights
violations against civilians”.

The document also includes a request to the government of the United States
for “an immediate cessation of ‘Plan Colombia’” The Plan Colombia
initiative has funnelled millions of dollars into Colombia during the past
decade, most going to the military and police and drug eradication.

In order to increase the support to ecumenical peace-building initiatives
already taking place in that country, the Central Committee encouraged the
organization of an International Consultation on Colombia together with
the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) “in order to explore the
possibility for an accompaniment programme and/or an Ecumenical Forum to
support the churches and people in Colombia in their peace work”.

When outlining the issue for Central Committee members, reference was made
to the 2010 report of the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human
Rights (UNHCHR) in which defenders of human rights in Colombia expressed
deep concern over “the increased threats and stigmatization of several
categories of human rights defenders”.

The UNHCHR report presents cases of killings, threats, arbitrary arrests
and detentions, sexual offences, break-ins into homes and offices, illegal
surveillance by state intelligence services and information theft
attributed to “members of illegal armed groups that emerged from the
paramilitary demobilization and guerrilla groups, in particular the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) as well
as, in some cases, members of security forces”.

Addressing the international community, the statement appeals to
governments “to assess the impact of trade provisions on human rights
before they enter into a free trade agreement (FTA) with Colombia and to
adopt sustainable policies that give particular attention to the
protection of farmers, indigenous people, Afro-Colombians and
trade-unionists, as their rights are being highly impacted by the presence
of transnational corporations in the country”.

Full text of the statement (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=d375d56a07df7f693e8b )

More information on the Central Committee meeting (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=8888fbdcbeca93421309 )

Photos of the meeting (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=2d885b85f9d9e5e4b5b6 )

WCC member churches in Colombia (Link:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?RDCT=c32137f57d3ccfa8b609 )


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 Olav Fykse Tveit, 
from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.



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