June 20, 2008

JERUSALEM/GENEVA – Participants in a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service (DWS) regional consultation for Asia, Europe and the Middle East singled out human rights' promotion and protection, greater interfaith understanding, and tolerance as crucial components of the LWF's relief and development work.

Raising awareness among staff, primary focus groups and duty bearers about the need to integrate a rights-based approach into all relief and development plans and work was identified as an important task. The 30 participants in the 31 March-4 April meeting at the LWF-run Augusta Victoria Hospital (AVH) on the Mount of Olives in East Jerusalem, stressed the need to empower vulnerable and marginalized rights holders to assert their rights.

"Peace and Human Rights in a Multifaith Context," was the theme of the consultation, attended by representatives of LWF/DWS country programs in the Balkans, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Jerusalem and Nepal, and LWF staff persons from the Geneva secretariat and representatives from partner organizations in Canada, Finland and Sweden.

Mr Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, DWS program coordinator said the regional gathering offered opportunities for intensive experience-sharing among the participants. Advocacy for and protection of human rights are crucial for promoting peace and justice in a dignified way, he said.

As a faith-based organization, DWS should speak out openly and advocate justice and dignity using a rights-based approach throughout its work, Bueno de Faria explained. "The situation is quite complex, but it does not require a complex response, if churches and faith-based organizations commit themselves to foster interfaith understanding and tolerance," he noted.

During discussion, participants noted that fostering interfaith understanding and tolerance called for awareness raising and education among church leaders and other workers on the nature of diakonia, as well as developing user-friendly information, education and communication materials. This should include communicating basic information abut world religions and various approaches to diaconal work. They pointed to the need to create opportunities for members of different faiths and interest groups to become mutually acquainted and engage in common action.

The implementation of joint programs and projects that bring different faith communities together in a non-religious setting could contribute substantially to better understanding and tolerance, participants at the meeting agreed. Sensitivity to local conditions and contexts was cited as important in ensuring the sustainability of joint projects and preventing conflict between faith groups.

Education

Mr Anoj Chhetri, DWS Nepal program coordinator, spoke about awareness raising and advocacy in a country in which the LWF program has been supporting Bhutanese refugees and other marginalized and disadvantaged populations for 17 years. Ordinary people, in particular, are totally unaware of their rights. Hence, a central concern of the program is educating people with regard to exercising and defending their rights, he said.

Dr Inn Sam, DWS Cambodia deputy representative, said supporting local communities in asserting their rights is a priority for the LWF program. He pointed out the need to emphasize government accountability regarding human rights respect and protection as provided for in international treaties. Raising people's awareness requires considerable education. "Some people are powerful, others are powerless. We try to empower the powerless," said Ms Vuthy Chhuon, the program's human resource manager. "Greater commitment is needed, especially with regard to interfaith conflicts, if conflicting parties are to be brought to the dialogue table and greater mutual understanding is to be achieved," she added.

Adverse Human Rights Situation

The current conflict between Israel and the Palestinian territories held the center stage during the meeting in Jerusalem. Israeli and Palestinian participants reported on the consequences of the extension of Jewish settlements, as well as the construction of security infrastructures and walls separating Israel and Palestinian territories and the resulting impact on the daily lives of Palestinians.

Ms Randa Siniora, director general of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen's Rights (PICCR), said the human rights situation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip had become more critical at all levels. Each month dozens of Palestinians lose their lives as the result of Israeli reprisal attacks in response to rocket fire from Palestinian territories. In addition, conflict between Hamas and Fatah are making her organization's efforts increasingly difficult. This concerns both visits to prisoners and training and capacity-building programs.

Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL) denounced as scandalous the fact that world political leaders have allowed the Palestinian people to live in refugee camps for 60 years. Without justice, relief work and development aid are merely inflated words, said Younan, who is LWF Vice-President for the Asian region. He noted the LWF wants justice and seeks to empower the weak and refugees.

The struggle by the Palestinian people to obtain their rights must be non-violent, the Lutheran bishop said. It is a sin to kill another Palestinian; it is a sin to kill anybody.

Younan expressed his conviction that peace was possible. He said when he mentions the two-state solution along the pre-1967 borders, he also affirms Israel's right to exist. But this also implies that natural resources such as water and land must be shared equitably. He however, sees the Jewish settlements as a major stumbling block, saying the settlement policy must end and settlements beyond the 1967 borders must be dismantled. This, together with the partitioning of Jerusalem, is an absolute precondition for an enduring peace.

The world community must recognize that Palestinians have been the victims of injustice, Bishop Younan concluded.

Lutheran World Information