wfn.org | [CONTENT] Interfaith Leaders Vow Strong Peace Efforts in West Africa

["Lesley Crosson" <lcrosson@churchworldservice.org>]

NOTE: Photos to accompany story can be downloaded at http://www.churchworldservice.org/media/

U.S., West African Interfaith Leaders Vow to Consolidate Region's Peace
Efforts; Will Monitor Governance, Justice, Corruption

Liberian Vice President Boakai Tells Monrovia Conference, Peace Depends On
People Seeing Improvement in Their Lives

NEW YORK--Jan. 25-Interfaith leaders from the United States and West
Africa meeting this week in Liberia vowed to work together to monitor
government activity, work toward justice and equality, and minimize
corruption in West Africa to help achieve lasting peace in the region.

The action plan concluded a three-day international conference held in the
capitol city of Monrovia, aimed at raising the visibility of peace efforts
by the religious community and consolidating those peace efforts in
fragile, post-conflict Liberia and other Mano River Union countries.

The gathering, keynoted by Liberia's new Vice President Dr. Joseph N.
Boakai, was the first international conference held in Liberia since the
recent election of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.  It also attracted
participants from the diplomatic community, civil society, and non-governmental organizations.

"It is time for creative strategies that will take us to the next level,"
said the Rev. John McCullough, executive director of United States-based
global humanitarian agency Church World Service. Church World Service and
the United States Catholic Mission Association co-sponsored the event.

African and supporting U.S. interfaith leaders agreed to a strategy of
organizing around country-specific action programs for Manor River Union
countries Liberia, Guinea Conakry and Sierra Leone and around overall
programs for the entire Mano River region.

Church World Service's McCullough said inter-religious councils in each
region will spearhead grassroots campaigns to reach out to communities for
the purpose of ensuring citizens a voice in peacebuilding efforts.

The councils also will work with national reconciliation groups attempting
to heal the wounds of wars that have ravaged the region.  Regional faith
leaders committing to the initiative included Protestants, Catholics,
Muslims and Bauhaus.

Set against the backdrop of renewed hope in a country that just this week
inaugurated a democratically elected president, Ellen Sirleaf-Johnson,
after decades of civil war, the conference challenged participants to work
across denominational lines and to confront pressing issues "with
impunity."

McCullough said that in addition to addressing issues of good governance
and regional cooperation, the faith community must deal with "the
lingering hurts and pains of a people who have suffered too long."

The sentiment was echoed by Boakai in his keynote address.  The vice-president pledged "overwhelming support" for peace consolidation efforts but
cautioned that those who feel "left out of the political process" must see
improvements in their lives if there is to be a lasting peace.

The groups also agreed to focus on the roles of youth and women in
consolidating peace.

The conflict-ridden Mano River region is a focal point of NGO Church World
Service's current Africa Initiative. CWS and the Fellowship of Christian
Councils and Churches in West Africa (FECCIWA) will collaborate in
monitoring peace consolidation efforts in the overall West Africa region.

FECCIWA Secretary General Baffour Dokyi Amoa, who led a conference
discussion on the role inter-religious councils in Liberia, Sierra Leone
and Guinea play in peacekeeping and conflict management, expressed delight
at the prospect of councils following up with work in their respective
countries.

"I was very excited that people "from different organizations and
backgrounds" could share ideas and recommendations and finally "commit to
carrying out these concepts and specific actions at national levels," he
said.

The agreements come at a critical time for the region.	Liberia has seated
its new president, the first woman ever elected to lead an African nation.
 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf replaces ex-president Charles Taylor, who was
forced into exile in Nigeria in 2003.  More than 250,000 people were
killed in Liberia's civil war and thousands more were displaced. One month
ago, United Nations peacekeepers left neighboring Sierra Leone, pledging
to help the government and people recover from a brutal civil war that
left at least 75,000 people dead and thousands more maimed.

"The sense of unity and common purpose was inspiring, says the Rev.
William Dyer, executive director of the Washington, D.C.- based Africa
Faith and Justice Network. Reflecting on the  interactions between people
from different countries and different faiths traditions,  Dyer, a member
of the Roman Catholic missionary order Society of the Missionaries of
Africa, adds that  "the openness and acceptance of each other and the
willingness to walk together is very encouraging" for the prospect of
peace.

The timeliness of the faith community's coming together around efforts to
maintain a still-fragile peace in the region, was underscored in remarks
by European Union Representative Godfrey Rudd.	One of several public
officials who attended the conference,	 Rudd urged closer adherence to
principles of the Bible and the Koran.

"You cannot consolidate peace without talking about reconciliation," said
Moses Ole Sakuda, associate director of Church World Service's Mission
Relationships and Witness program.  "The fact that all these people were
in one room talking is an important step toward reconciliation, which will
lead to consolidation."

Determined to confront neglect and corruption by public official,
participants also agreed that the inter-religious council in each country
would hold a biennial forum for the faith community and civil community to
determine whether their legislative and judicial officials are acting in a
manner that promotes peace.

"Civil societies and faith bodies "aren't going to sit on the fence,"
declared Amoa.	"They're going to take their roles and civil responsibilities very seriously," by speaking out if they determine that the government
is not acting in the best interests of the people.

The gathering represents the culmination of a process started in 2002 when
Church World Service accepted an invitation from ecumenical groups in the
Mano River Basin to come to West Africa to support them in peace building
efforts.  In March 2003, Church World Service invited the Mano River Basin
religious leaders to the United States, where they met with policy makers
at the United Nations, the White House, the Department of State, and on
Capitol Hill, warning the U.S. and international bodies of impending
crisis in Liberia.

The interfaith delegation from the United States, led by McCullough and
Sister Rosanne Rustemeyer, a former executive director of the United
States Catholic Mission Association, included representatives of Protestant denominations and Catholic missionary orders.	The West African delegation included Christian, Islamic, and Bahai representatives from Mano River
Union countries.

The conference was hosted by the Liberia Council of Churches and co-sponsored by Church World Service and the U.S. Catholic Mission Association under
the banner of the Continuing Committee on Common Witness, formed by the
two groups as a forum for ecumenical dialogue on mission issues.  This is
the first such event the committee has held outside the U.S. and the first
time it has included international ecumenical partners.

Other members of the U.S. delegation were Luke Asikoye, associate for
international disaster response, Presbyterian Church (USA); Rita Tams
Redfield, Anglican and Global Relations Office,  Episcopal Church USA;
Moses Ole Sakuda, associate director, Church World Service; Rev. Michael
Montoya, executive director of United States Catholic Mission Association;
Rev. William Headley, counselor to the president, Catholic Relief
Services, USA; William Dyer, executive director, Africa Faith and Justice
Network; and Sister Rosanne Rustemeyer, School Sisters of Notre Dame and
former executive director of United States Catholic Mission Association

Signators to a final conference document urging "religious and traditional
leaders to continue playing their role of being proactive on social
issues" included Liberian Council of Churches, Church World Service,
United States Catholic Mission Association,  Fellowship of Christian
Councils and Churches in West Africa, All-Africa Conference of Churches,
Africa Faith and Justice Network, National Muslim Council of Liberia,
Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone, Christian Council of Guinea,
Federation of Liberian Youth, Christian Council of Gambia, West Africa
Network for Peace Building, Association of Evangelicals of Liberia, Stella
Maris Polytechnic, World Conference on Religions for Peace, Catholic
Relief Services, National Muslim Council, Inter-Religious Council of
Liberia, Council of Churches in Sierra Leone, Ecumenical Women Organization of Liberia, Eminent Persons Ecumenical Program for Peace in Africa, Press
Union of Liberia, University of Liberia, and Foundation for International
Dignity.

Church World Service is the relief, development, and refugee assistance
agency of 35 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican communions in the United
States.

Media Contacts
Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin - 24/7 - (781) 925-1526, jdragin@gis.net

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