wfn.org | ANGLICAN TO HEAD ALL AFRICA CONFERENCE OF CHURCHES

[Audrey Whitefield <a.whitefield@quest.org.uk>]

Oct. 21, 1997
ANGLICAN COMMUNION NEWS SERVICE
Canon Jim Rosenthal, Director of Communications
Anglican Communion Office
London, England

[97.10.2.1]

AFRICA REGIONAL: ANGLICAN TO HEAD ALL AFRICA CONFERENCE OF CHURCHES

(ENI) A Sudanese Anglican priest who has just been elected to one of
Africa's most influential Church posts has lamented the fact that most
people around the world do not even know their own human rights.

Canon Clement Janda, who was elected this week  as the new General
Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches, told journalists
that teaching human rights has been one of his main tasks as director of
the Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation in Zambia.   The foundation, Africa's
biggest Christian lay centre, specialises in leadership training.

"People talk about human rights without knowing what they are," said
Canon Janda. "How many people have even seen the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights? Most people in any given country don't know their
country's constitution. The biggest problem is ignorance. People need to
be taught about human rights, and then they can respond [to the
infringement of their rights]."

While Canon Janda, speaking less than 24 hours after his appointment was
announced, was reluctant to comment to journalists on internal matters
within the AACC, he made it clear that human rights, conflict
resolution, the economy and the general state of the continent will
receive major attention within the five-year term he has accepted. He
pointedly stressed the role of the media in safeguarding human rights.
"I believe that no society can claim to be free if it restricts the
press," he said.   "It is my desire that the press in Africa should
remain our [the Churches'] partners as we battle against dictatorships
and fight for human rights."

Canon Janda faced strong competition for the post of general secretary
of the AACC, Africa's leading ecumenical organisation, with 142 member
churches. The other four candidates were Peter Kodjo, of Ghana;  Silas
Ncozana, of Malawi; Sam Kobia, of Kenya; and Nobert Keen, of Cameroon.

Born in 1941 in Sudan, Clement Janda was ordained as a priest in the
Episcopal Church of Sudan (Anglican) in 1970. Since then he has held key
positions in his own Church and in the AACC itself, as well as in the
Sudan Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches in Geneva.

He also holds a Master of Theology from Austin Presbyterian Theological
seminary in Texas, USA. He is expected to take up his new job within a
few months.