wfn.org | LWI 2008-039 Rights-Based Perspective Crucial to Relief Work

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Rights-Based Perspective Crucial to Relief Work
LWF Consultation on Peace and Human Rights in a Multifaith
Context 

JERUSALEM/GENEVA, 20 June 2008 (LWI) - 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. (924 words)

>*       *       *

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund, Sweden, the LWF
currently has 140 member churches in 78 countries all over the
world, with a total membership of over 68.3 million. The LWF acts
on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such
as ecumenical and interfaith 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 LWF’s information
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