Critical Issues and Developments  
  

CEC/LWF Human Rights Training Workshop in Bratislava

Between 3 and 7 March 2004, representatives of Protestant and Orthodox churches from 15 countries in Central and Eastern Europe took part in a CEC/LWF Human Rights Training Workshop on "Human rights and religious freedom", in Bratislava, Slovakia. Please click here for the full text of the report. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Illegal Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories

In light of the recent proposals by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of the State of Israel, and the endorsement given to those proposals by President George W. Bush of the United States of America, the issue of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories becomes ever more central to the search for peace in the Holy Land. The LWF considers that the illegal settlements - whether in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank - are a fundamental obstacle to peace. Any proposal for the maintenance of some of those settlements must be negotiated with the Palestinian community.

In 2001, the LWF Council called for "an end to the illegal occupation of, and the illegal settlements in, the occupied Palestinian territories, as a fundamental and necessary step toward securing a just and sustainable peace for all peoples of the region." In 2002, the Council decided "to encourage member churches to consider promoting a boycott of the products of illegal Israeli settlements."

An updated list of the products of illegal Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories can be found on the Web site of the Israeli movement 'Peace Now'.

World Social Forum 2004 in Mumbai

The fourth World Social Forum (WSF) took place 16 to 21 January with the motto "Another World is Possible", providing an alternative event to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. 
  

Close to 100,000 representatives of social movements and non-governmental organizations (NGOs)  participated in the 2004 forum in Mumbai, India. The aim of the WSF is to find ways to create greater social and economic justice in the world. 

The LWF Tenth Assembly, which took place in July 2003 in Winnipeg, Canada, stressed the importance of this type of dialogue and cooperation with civil society when seeking common solutions to the problems posed by economic globalization. For this reason, a 50-member delegation from the LWF participated in the discussions and events in Mumbai, which were dedicated to such topics as access to and distribution of water, problems associated with the caste system, and illegitimate debt.

Please click here for additional information on the LWF’s participation in the WSF 2004 in Mumbai.

Issues of Ongoing Concern
 

HIV/AIDS

The impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on communities around the world, and on the LWF communion, cannot be underestimated. Although inherently medical, this disease is one that confronts the church on many different levels: theological, ecclesiological, pastoral, spiritual and relational. It especially presses us to understand the role of the church as an inclusive and caring community.

As churches engage in pastoral support to those affected by HIV/AIDS and their families, they are confronted with unanticipated challenges that go far beyond the medical nature of the illness. These include issues of theological understanding, stigmatization, government policy, human rights, drug dependency, immigration, sexual behaviors, sexual exploitation of children, gender and poverty. While keeping concrete actions of care and support paramount and of highest priority, the nature of responses by churches and the LWF must take these other issues seriously and provide for space and support to deal with them.

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Israel/Palestine

Having frequently reaffirmed a vision of peace in the Holy Land and of Jerusalem as a city of two peoples and three faiths, the LWF is increasingly concerned about the spiraling violence in Israel-Palestine. Present in the region through its member church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ), and through the Augusta Victoria Hospital and other field program activities, the LWF has observed these developments closely over a long period of time.

 
The LWF is convinced that a military response offers no solution to the violence, and would only lead to more violence. Dialogue, including between religious communities, offers the only path to peace. The LWF seeks to utilize all possible opportunities to advocate for dialogue for peace in Christ's land of birth.

Please click to find the ELCJ special Edition Newsletter: A call for help from Christian communities in regard to the separation wall, November 24, 2003. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Please click to find more information on the Israel/Palestine situation.

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Caste-based Discrimination

An estimated 250 million people in south Asia suffer the most severe and culturally entrenched discrimination because of their birth as "Dalits" - outcasts of the caste system. Though legislated against in many countries, caste-based discrimination remains a daily reality for these communities, especially in rural areas. The forms that such discrimination most frequently take include the enforced use of different utensils and segregation of communities according to caste, allocation (by birth) of the most dangerous and demeaning tasks, prohibitions on inter-marriage, social boycotts, sexual abuse and murder.

Human rights law prohibits discrimination on the basis of, among other grounds, descent, social origin, birth or other status. Human rights provides a framework for analyzing and addressing the situation of one of the largest and most systematically oppressed communities on earth.

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Economic Globalization and Human Rights

The phenomenon of economic globalization is one of the defining characteristics of our time. It has affected almost all human societies-not only in their economic lives but also culturally, socially and politically. This process has deeply ambiguous outcomes when judged according to standards of justice and ethics. The churches are as deeply affected by, and implicated in the process of globalization as any other community or institution. But the moral ambiguity of the process is a special challenge for us to struggle with, from our faith perspective.
  

In a discussion process on "Engaging Economic Globalization as a Communion" , LWF member churches are being challenged to reflect on the dynamics and effects of economic globalization and to discern how to respond in light of the faith we confess, the values we uphold, and the communion we embody.

 
Churches must insist always that human dignity takes priority over economic advantage. Lutheran tradition sharpens this message, interpreting it in a historical context of economic and political upheaval that in many ways mirrors our own. This tradition calls for regulation of economic power and the channeling of those dynamic forces to serve the common good. Human rights law reinforces this position, and provides the churches with tools and a framework of analysis for holding governments and other actors accountable in an era of globalization.

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Peace in Africa

Conflict has reemerged across the African continent during the last decade, despite hopes in the early nineties that an 'African renaissance' and new generation of African leaders had put an end to endemic conflict in Africa. Each of the numerous recent and current conflicts in Africa have led to much suffering on the part of innocent civilians, through deaths and injuries caused in the fighting, the lingering menace of land mines, loss of livelihoods, destruction of communities, and erasure of years of development efforts. The international community has been challenged afresh to address the root causes of conflict in Africa, including the social and economic causes, and to develop practical and effective ways of resolving and preventing such conflicts.

Churches and faith communities have an essential role to play in promoting the establishment of a culture of peace in Africa. Churches and faith communities are themselves directly involved in and affected by conflict situations in many different ways. The grassroots presence of churches and faith communities throughout the wider societies make their engagement in these processes critical to the outcome.

The LWF seeks to encourage interfaith dialogue and cooperation for peace in Africa, and to promote the formulation and implementation of concrete inter-faith responses to conflict.

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Interfaith Dialogue for Peace

The LWF has consistently promoted non-violence and inter-faith dialogue and cooperation. Recently, the Federation has been increasingly concerned about the "instrumentalization" of religious diversity for political or military ends. The LWF fundamentally rejects the misuse of religious diversity for such purposes and considers peace and reconciliation a common cause among peoples of different faiths.

More information

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