U.S., West African Interfaith Leaders Vow to Consolidate Region’s Peace Efforts
February 2nd, 2006 by sfuqua
“Liberian Vice President Boakai Tells Monrovia Conference, Peace Depends On People Seeing Improvement in Their Lives
Jan 25, 2006 – Church
World Service. NEW YORK – 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
capital 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 Mano 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 Baha'is.
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.
A U.S. delegate, Susan Sanders, minister and team leader for global
sharing of resources for the United Church of Christ, came away convinced
that the global community of faith must actively support those efforts by
West Africa's faith community. "We in the wider church must
accompany our sisters and brothers on this long walk and be advocates for the
continued engagement of the international community in rehabilitation and
restoration efforts," said Sanders.
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 Baha'i representatives from Mano River
Union countries.
The conference was hosted by the Liberian 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 program 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.
