wfn.org | LWF-led Inter-Faith Action for Peace in Africa Launched

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

General Secretary Noko Urges African Religious Leaders to Play
Their Part

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa/GENEVA, 26 September 2002 (LWI) - The
Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), yesterday launched an Inter-Faith Action for
Peace in Africa under the theme, "Embracing the Gift of Peace."

Noko announced the inauguration of the process at a press
conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. The LWF and National
Religious Leaders' Forum of South Africa (NRLFSA), will host a
ground-breaking Inter-Faith Peace Summit at the Kopanong
Conference Center, Benoni, South Africa, October 14-19. The Summit
will be opened by South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Addressing journalists, Noko said the African continent was
"enveloped in a cycle of violence beyond description." This
violence is not imported from outside Africa but is "made in
Africa," he said.

According to Noko the aim of the Summit would be to get a solid
commitment to inter-faith dialogue and co-operation for promoting
peace in Africa. "But it will be more than just a commitment on
paper. We want to say less and do more and find our own solutions
to the problems of Africa," he said.

Noko sees potential for complimentary efforts by religious and
political leaders. "The [2001] establishment of the African Union
[replacing the former Organization of African Unity] has created a
new environment for the promotion of peace...and the New
Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) initiative has
produced a new sense of commitment to development in Africa." The
Partnership is a commitment by African leaders to eliminate
poverty and place the African continent on a path of lasting
growth and development. It is founded on African States practicing
good governance, democracy and human rights, while working to
prevent and resolve situations of conflict and instability on the
continent.

Calling on African religious leaders to play their part in
addressing emerging and recurrent conflict on the continent, Noko
stressed that "the deepest and truest sources of our faith
traditions and cultural heritage provide us with the means to
establish a culture of peace in Africa."

The Rev. Ray McCauley, President of the International Federation
of Christian Churches and NRLFSA executive member, agreed that the
Inter-Faith Peace Summit initiative could play a role in
strengthening the NEPAD plan.

"Africa needs to be at peace for NEPAD to have far-reaching
success. Religious leaders of the continent can offer much in this
area as well as strengthen the moral fiber of our countries,"
McCauley said.

"We must not forget the role that religious leaders played in the
build up to the elections and peaceful transformation in South
Africa in 1994," he noted. He said he was convinced that "the
Benoni conference could be a major milestone in the march towards
a true African Renaissance."

NRLFSA member Iman Ebrahim Bham, said the examples of tolerance
and peace making in South Africa's recent past were worthy of case
studies and consideration by other countries. He said one would
have to look deeper to find what were the real reasons for
religious intolerance, which sometimes came about because of
perceived economic imbalances.

Over 100 delegates, representing all major religions, including
traditional African religions and inter-faith groups across
Africa, will be attending the Inter-Faith Peace Summit.

Key topics of the conference will include: the role of inter-faith
dialogue in promoting a culture of peace in Africa; freedom of
religion and conflict prevention; promotion and protection of
human rights; relations between religion and the State; and
African traditional methods of conflict resolution and
reconciliation.

In addition the conference will hear first-hand accounts from
people caught up in wars in Africa, including a former child
soldier and a landmine survivor.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) 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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