wfn.org | MECC Unit on Life and Service Activities

[mecc <mecc@cyberia.net.lb>]

1) MECC Participates in the CCME 16th General Assembly in the UK, October
27-31, 2005.
MECC Life and Service Director represented MECC General Secretary, Mr.
Guirgis Saleh, at the Churches¹ Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME)
16th General Assembly.	Ms. Hadeshian conveyed Mr. Saleh¹s greetings and
wishes for a successful Assembly, as well as MECC¹s appreciation for the
work of the CCME and the longstanding collaboration between their two
organizations. A reception on Thursday 27th October at the City Hall of
London marked the opening and gathered church representatives and eminent
personalities from the UK and Europe.

A one-day conference on October 28 addressed the issue of ³Globalization
and
its Consequences for migration². Migration experts, policy advisors,
official representatives, EU parliamentarians and undersecretary of the
State Home Office, discussed the issues, challenges and responses to global
migration and proposed recommendations.

The following two days were devoted to the organization's business agenda.
One major item on the agenda was the integration process of the CCME into
the Conference of European Churches (CEC) with the belief that this
integration will encourage, among others, the involvement of a greater
number of European churches in migration issues.

2) MECC Human Resource Development Program Addresses the Topic of
³Administrative Barriers to Development in the Churches."
The topic was addressed through a one-day workshop organized in cooperation
with the MECC Unit on Faith & Unity, followed by a 2-days training session,
November 7-9, 2005 in Beirut. 55 participants, including bishops, priests,
directors of hospitals & social and medical centers, NGO workers met to
identify and discuss barriers in administrative systems of church-related
organizations that hinder their development and progress.

The concept of change and the importance of new approaches in the
administrative management of the churches and their related organizations
for a better performance and more efficient results, were highlighted.

A biblical and theological perspective of and approach to the churches'
economic entrepreneurship and socio ­ economic developmental activities
were
on the program. A parallel was made between the working systems of church
institutions and other institutions. Testimonies were given underlining
administrative difficulties within church-related institutions in general.

20 participants attended the training workshop, among them priests,
theological students, directors of church-related organizations, and social
workers. The training program addressed the different aspects of
administration and management and highlighted the need for a humane approach
to problem solving in the management system of any institution, church or
civil society.	A similar session was recommended for high level
administrators in church-related organizations. For more information, kindly
contact Life and Service Unit Director, Ms. Seta Hadeshian at:
meccls@cyberia.net.lb

3) Prison Management and Restorative Justice
A workshop was organized by the MECC Unit on Life and Service from November
11­12, 2005, at the House of Lawyers in Beirut, in collaboration with the
Human Rights Institute of Beirut. The 125 participants included
representatives of the Lebanese government, the European Delegation in
Lebanon, UNHCR, as well as judges, lawyers, prison chaplains, human rights
workers, priests, national and international NGOs, social workers and media
concerned with the issue of prison reforms.

In their opening addresses, Human Rights Institute director, MECC General
Secretary and MECC Life & Service Director, emphasized the need for change
in the penal justice system and the implementation of human rights laws in
the prisons.

The workshop aimed at raising awareness on the importance of reforms in the
prison administration and the transfer of the administration of prisons from
the Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry of Justice or civilian
authorities. The workshop also analyzed and reflected on the root causes of
the many problems in the Lebanese prisons.

Speakers addressed issues from the legal, social, health, human rights and
other perspectives, emphasizing the importance of building the capacity and
skills of all those who are working with detainees and prisoners, including
the security and guards in prisons, the police, and the administrative
personnel.

Participants agreed to issue a recommendation letter to be signed by
participants themselves and by organizations working with prisons and the
penal system to be channeled, through the Human Rights Institute, to the
Lebanese parliament for consideration. It was recommended that NGOs working
with prisons should meet twice a year with the prison administration and
staff to discuss issues of concern and find solutions to the many problems.
For more information, kindly contact Ms. Seta Hadeshian at:
meccls@cyberia.net.lb

4) The Joint WCC/MECC Working Group on Refugees, Displaced and Migrants
Meets in Dubai ­ UAE
As a follow up to the Working Group's recommendation in 2004 to hold a
meeting the following year in the Gulf region, the Group met from November
23-27, 2005, in Dubai and focused on awareness and advocacy activities to
address root causes of migration and trafficking, on ways of strengthening
contextual ecumenism in the Gulf and on responses to the pastoral and legal
needs of Asian Migrant workers living in the area.

The meeting in the Gulf was a learning opportunity for all participants and
a possibility to have a closer look at the plight of migrant workers in the
region and their issues and at the treatment and abuse they experience. The
meeting focused on detention issues and gave the churches and opportunity to
dialogue, to share information and experiences, and to network.

The working group gave particular attention to the Middle East contribution
to the WCC General Assembly Mutiraos and decided to focus on the churches'
prison ministry and detention issues of migrants. For more information,
kindly contact Ms. Seta Hadeshian at: meccls@cyberia.net.lb

Middle East Council of Churches
Office of International Ecumenical Relations
P.O. Box 5376, Beirut, Lebanon

Guirgis Ibrahim Saleh, General Secretary
mecc@cyberia.net.lb or guirgissaleh@cyberia.net.lb

+961-1-353-938
http://www.mec-churches.org/