wfn.org | LWF develops civil society program in Guatemala

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

Support for initiatives that strengthen democratic participation

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala/GENEVA 28 July 1999 (lwi) - With the aim of
contributing to the implementation of the 1997 peace accords that put an
end to 35 years of civil war in Guatemala, the Lutheran World Federation
(LWF) is developing two cooperation programs in the Latin American
country though its Department for World Service (DWS) .

According to the Latin American and Caribbean Communication Agency
(ALC), one of the two initiatives, the Civil Society Program, is
oriented toward supporting action contemplated in the peace accords
which are aimed at rebuilding the country based on the recognition of
its multicultural, multilingual and multiethnic nature.

This implies support for initiatives that strengthen democratic
representation and participation and in this context preserve,
strengthen and expand citizen management in issues of high public
interest, Tania Palencia Prado, coordinator of the Civil Society
Program, told ALC.

The program is developed in four main areas, she said. The first is the
creation of legislative and political measures that are particularly
related to the rights of the indigenous people and women, and their
representation in public institutions.

Other areas focus on promoting cultural and educational reforms,
encouraging the exercise of economic and social rights, as well as
giving assistance and technical support to strengthen the institutional
capacity of the indigenous people, women, farmers and union
organizations.

The second program, which operates independently, is aimed at
Guatemala's north-eastern department of El Peten and will support the
resettlement of people who have been displaced as a result of the civil
war.

(The LWF is a global communion of 128 member churches in 70 countries
representing 58 million of the world's 61.5 million Lutherans. Its
highest decision making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven
years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council
which meets annually, and its Executive Committee.)

[Lutheran World Information is the information service of the Lutheran
World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted, material presented
does not represent positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various
units. Where the dateline of an article contains the notation (lwi), the
material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
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