wfn.org | PRESBYTERIANS TO SPONSOR UNITED NATIONS SEMINAR

[PCUSA_NEWS@ecunet.org]

5-May-95

95142    PRESBYTERIANS TO SPONSOR UNITED NATIONS SEMINAR 
               ON STATE OF THE WORLD'S REFUGEES 
 
                         By Julian Shipp 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--The changing nature of the world's refugee problem and the 
urgent need for new solutions will be examined in a seminar sponsored by 
the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and Presbyterian World Service Nov. 
8-10 in New York. 
 
     The seminar, entitled "The State of the World's Refugees," will be 
held at the United Nations Building, according to the Rev. Richard L. 
Killmer, coordinator of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program. 
 
     Conference participants will explore the complex causes that lie at 
the root of refugee flows, including conflict, massive human rights abuses 
and long-simmering social, political, economic and environmental tensions. 
 
     The seminar will also address the roles of the United Nations and 
nongovernmental organizations, including the religious community, in 
responding to the current refugee crisis.  
 
     "The scale and complexity of today's humanitarian crisis, such as can 
be seen in Sudan, Rwanda, the Balkans and elsewhere, reflect the 
instability of our time," Killmer said. "One symptom of the upheaval is the 
increasing number of refugees worldwide, whose ranks have swelled from 2.5 
million in 1970 to more than 23 million today. More than 80 percent of 
these refugees are women and children." 
 
     According to Killmer, one such refugee is Nyawanga, a 30-year-old 
Sudanese woman who had been running for months to escape the fighting 
between the Sudanese army and the rebels in southern Sudan before she 
finally fled her home country in January. 
 
     Eight months pregnant, Nyawanga was forced to make a 100-mile trek on 
foot across difficult terrain from Kapoeta, Sudan, to Lokichoggio in Kenya. 
She gave birth to the youngest of her three children, a daughter, during 
the journey. 
 
     Killmer said that although Nyawanga's infant will never remember the 
first days of her life on the road, she is not likely to forget their 
legacy, which is embedded in the name her family chose for her, Nyawaur, 
which means "running."     
 
     The registration deadline for the seminar is Sept. 5.  The 
registration fee is $120, including most meals, briefings, resources and a 
United Nations tour. For those requiring lodging, accommodations in 
three-person suites at a midtown Manhattan hotel are available for $100 per 
person. 
      
     Additional information and registration forms are available from the 
Presbyterian United Nations Office, 777 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 
10017. 
 
     The Presbyterian United Nations Office is part of the Presbyterian 
Peacemaking Program, Congregational Ministries Division, and is funded by 
the annual Peacemaking Offering. 
 
 

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For more information contact Presbyterian News Service
  Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, KY 40202
  phone 502-569-5504            fax 502-569-8073  
  E-mail PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org   Web page: http://www.pcusa.org 

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