WCC Executive Committee Issues Statements on Congo and Gaza
Calling on its member churches to pray and advocate for those who have suffered because of deadly conflicts in Gaza and Congo, the committee approved strong statements meant to raise awareness and motivate governments to respond to these tragedies.
Conflicts in Congo and Gaza
Calling on its member churches to pray and advocate for those who have suffered because of deadly conflicts in Gaza and Congo, the committee approved strong statements meant to raise awareness and motivate governments to respond to these tragedies.
The suffering of innocent people in these conflicts has been staggering, the statements say.
War in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has left some 4.3 million people dead. More than 40 per cent of those killed are women and children. An additional 15 million people are malnourished because of the conflict, the statement says.
The December and January Israeli bombardment of Gaza left more than 1,500 Palestinians dead, most of them women and children. Thousands more were injured and left homeless. Four Israeli civilians were killed as a result of Hamas rockets fired into Israel, the statement says.
“We view these documents as important for the worldwide church to read and disseminate among their congregations,” WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia said. “So many people have suffered and lost their lives because of these conflicts, and we can no longer turn a blind eye.”
“There is much we can do,” Kobia said.
In the Congo statement the international community was challenged “to step up humanitarian and technical support for national reconstruction” while “helping to stimulate and guide socio-economic restitution for the people of DRC who have been cheated of their wealth through systematic international plunder of natural resources which should be destined for the well being of the Congolese people.”
It also calls for international support for the Congolese churches and the people of Congo as they pursue a sustainable peace.
The Gaza statement called on WCC member churches and related organizations to “hold their own governments to account” for the responsibilities they bear under international law to help resolve the Israel-Palestine conflict.
It also called on the “United Nations to investigate alleged war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law by the parties to the Gaza conflict.”
Statement on the Gaza war:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=6650
Statement on the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo:
http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=6624