Pax Christi International ~ Newsletter no. 150~ July 2006
~ In this issue ~
Pax Christi International Looks for New Secretary General 1
New Member Organisations 1
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 1
Ethiopia 2
Kenya 2
Uganda 3
Canada 3
Africa 3
Visit Pax Christi Flanders and Election Observation in DR Congo 3
European Coalition on Oil in Sudan Issues New Publication 4
Americas & Caribbean 4
Coordination Europe - Haiti 4
Elections in Haiti: A Lesson and a Challenge 4
Pastoral Land Commission in Brazil 4
Asia & Pacific 5
Pax Christi International Expresses Concern for Indonesia’s Earthquake Victims 5
Pakistan NGO Support Group meets in Geneva 5
Pakistan’s Blasphemy laws give NCJP cause for concern 5
Inaugural Meeting of National Coordinating Committee of Pax Christ Pilipinas 5
Gandhi 2008 Association and the International Congress for Peace and Non-Violence 5
Programme to Mark “Torture Victims’ Day” in Kandy, Sri Lanka 5
Mannar Residents Victims of Clashes Between LTTE and Sri Lankan Navy 5
Middle East 5
New Group of EAPPI’s Begin Three Month Term 5
Israeli Settler Attacks Ecumenical Accompanier in Hebron 5
Give Aid to Palestinian Teachers! 5
End War in Iraq 5
Iraq and Iran: President Bush in Austria 5
Mission to Iran 5
Europe 5
Islamophobia in Europe? 5
Pax Christi Italia Plans Summer Activities 5
Violence on Public Transport 5
Security & Disarmament 5
IANSA Statement on Injury Prevention and Small Arms Control 5
Zagreb Statement Landmines 5
Cluster Munition Coalition 5
Pax Christi UK Urges Members to Take Action to CounterTridentNuclear Replacement 5
Human Rights 5
Undocumented Migrants in Belgium 5
UN Human Rights Council 5
Representation 5
Pax Christi International Vice President in Detroit, USA 5
UNESCO in Paris 5
International Calendar 5
Pax Christi International Looks for New Secretary General
Pax Christi International is looking for a new Secretary General, following the resolve of the current Secretary General to take his retirement at the end of 2007. The Secretary General will be based at the Pax Christi International Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium. Contractual employment will start on October 1st, 2007. Closing date for returned applications is 15th September 2006. For more detailed information, please see IS.56.E.06.
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New Member Organisations
At its latest meeting in May 2006, the Executive Committee accepted 8 new member organisations within the network of Pax Christi International. Here is a short presentation:
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Pax Christi Uvira
This active group was inspired by Pax Christi Bukavu and founded in 2003. Like its Bukavu counterpart, it maintains a close association with the local Catholic diocese and organises education campaigns on peace and human dignity in schools and local parishes throughout the diocese. A lively spirituality of peace is promoted through the various religious traditions that are present in the sub-region. Pax Christi Uvira also monitors violations of human rights, interviews victims and seeks to advocate on their behalf.
Working in collaboration with Jesuit Refugee Service, Pax Christi Uvira has a particular focus on the trafficking of small arms and the demobilisation and reintegration of child soldiers. In addition, the waves of returnees from neighbouring countries have provoked tensions and security concerns for the territories around Uvira. The group seeks to work with traditional leaders to find sustainable solutions to these new challenges.
Réseau des Femmes pour un Développement Associatif (RFDA)
The RFDA is a network of 38 women’s associations, created in 1998 as a point of reflection for women, to seek solutions for difficulties that are important to women’s experience and to promote women’s rights. It tries to mobilise women through their own organisations to make concrete contributions to their overall development. RFDA organises seminars on peace and human rights, provides leadership training for women and promotes reflective action on gender and conflict transformation. It also collaborates with Caritas to advocate for and accompany women who have been victims of sexual violence. Finally, RFDA organises public dialogues on peaceful cohabitation between tribes and groups in conflict.
Arche d’Alliance
The Arche d’Alliance (Ark of the Covenant) was founded in 1997 to address the numerous violations of human rights in the region during a particularly bitter period of war. The organisation works from the premise that the absence of a respect for human rights is at the source of many conflicts. The creation of a human rights culture is therefore viewed as a primordial task for the prevention of violent conflict. Arche d’Alliance tries to promote this culture through radio transmissions, youth activities, conferences, reflection days and the dissemination of literature on human rights, women’s rights and peace. It also engages in education, research, training in monitoring skills, and advocacy. At this time the organisation is very engaged in preparations for the upcoming DR Congo elections.
Ethiopia
Research Centre for Civic and Human Rights Education (RCCHE)
RCCHE was established by a group of educators in 1997 as an effort to give Ethiopian citizens access to information on democratic governance, conflict management and resolution, gender equality and civic and human rights. It promotes research and analysis of specific conflict areas, does advocacy, organises conferences and trainings and provides publications on a variety of concerns. RCCHE’s action plan over the next five years also includes an emphasis on adult education and other cross-cutting issues such as HIV/AIDS.
The organisation has had a long association with Pax Christi Netherlands, which has supported some projects. RCCHE was represented at the 2004 Pax Christi World Assembly in New Jersey, at the Africa Continental Consultation in Pretoria in November 2005 and at the recent Regional Consultation of the Greater Horn in Nairobi, April 2006.
Kenya
Chemchemi Ya Ukweli (CYU)
Chemchemi Ya Ukweli means wellspring of Truth in Kiswahili. The organisation was founded in 1997 as an inter-faith movement for non-violence in Kenya by religious leaders concerned about growing violence around such issues as constitutional reform, governance, transparency and public safety. CYU envisions for Kenya a culture of active non-violence and promotes non-violent methods for resolving conflicts within the country. It also places emphases on interfaith dialogue, advocacy and mentoring.
Chemchemi is a member of Non-Violent Peace Force (NPF) and has already been involved with NPF’s initiative in northern Uganda. CYU is also a member of the Kenya Social Forum and is very interested in issues of globalisation, economic justice and international trade policies. It receives support from CRS and has regular contact with Ron Pagnucco of Pax Christi USA. CYU also participated in the Pax Christi 2001 World Assembly in Mainz, Germany, and in the Africa Continental Consultation in Pretoria, November 2005 .
People for Peace in Africa (PPA)
PPA was organised in 1989 during an active period of peace negotiations for several conflicts in Africa. It was an initiative intended to link religious women and Franciscans to the process. It has since expanded into peace building work, mediating ethnic clashes and working in the field of trauma healing. The geographic focus for PPA is the countries of AMECEA and those of the Great Lakes region.
According to its vision statement, PPA is committed to establishing a just African society in which harmony, peace and reconciliation exist as a way of life based on deepest religious and rich traditional values, while employing modern participatory methods of empowering the grassroots. It also seeks to network with policymakers as well as development and peace organisations.
PPA affirms the role of ordinary people as builders of peace in their societies where violence is common and institutions have collapsed. It works for the welfare of displaced persons, for victims of war and for reconciliation and healing. It also tries to provide careful analysis of political and economic factors in conflict, transition politics and clashes between pastoralist and agrarian communities.
Uganda
Justice and Peace Commission, Archdiocese of Gulu
This Commission works at the epicentre of the long civil war that has raged in northern Uganda between the national government and the Lord’s Resistance Army. The latter has gained worldwide notoriety for its brutality toward the local population, particularly its practice of abducting young children to be trained for combat. The JPC works in partnership with people directly affected by the war to provide openings for active community engagement for peace. These activities include peace building efforts in schools and the community, paralegal services and civic education in the considerable internally displaced population. In 2005, a liaison office was opened in the Ugandan capital to provide technical support and to better coordinate its advocacy efforts on a national level.
The Commission does research and facilitates peace dialogues between communities in conflict, especially with the Karamoja pastoralist communities at its border. It also engages in cross-border peace building endeavours with its JPC counterparts in Sudan. Representatives of the Gulu JPC participated in the 2005 All-Africa Consultation and the 2006 Regional Consultation of the Greater Horn.
Canada
Congregation de Notre-Dame (CND)
CND was founded in 1653 and has approximately 1350 members, all of whom are women. CND is a member of the UNANIMA International coalition with status at ECOSOC. Programming is focused in Africa, Canada, the US, Japan, and Latin America and focuses on education for children and women, evangelising, protection of natural resources (in Latin America), non-violent solutions, opposition to human trafficking, and Third World debt cancellation. CND has collaborated with Muslims in Africa and various peace and justice movements including Entraide Missionaire, Development and Peace, Catholic Women’s Leage of Canada, and Centre d’étude canadienne et de coopération internationale (CECI). CND estimates that its education efforts in Canada, the US, Japan, and Cameroon reach approximately 12,000 youth.
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Africa
Visit Pax Christi Flanders and Election Observation in DR Congo
Bart Horemans, Africa Desk Officer for Pax Christi Flanders, paid a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo, 20-26 June 2006. First, Bart participated in the Pax Christi Conference on Light Weapons and Security in collaboration with the local Pax Christi network of Ituri. From the 22 until 26 June, Bart visited the local networks of Pax Christi in the North of Kivu. Two members of Pax Christi Flanders, Didier Verbruggen and Anne Van den Bussche, will monitor the election process in Ituri and the North of Kivu, 22 July-6 August. The elections are planned on 30 July 2006. More at http://www.paxchristi.be
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European Coalition on Oil in Sudan Issues New Publication
The European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS) has published a report on "Oil Development in Northern Upper Nile, Sudan", documenting the socio-economic and environmental impact of oil exploitation in the volatile Melut Basin region of Sudan. Oil extraction has long been at the heart of the Sudanese conflict. Pax Christi International is a member of ECOS, a coalition of over 80 organisations calling on governments and the business sector to ensure that Sudan’s oil wealth contributes to peace and equitable development. To access this report, visit
http://www.ecosonline.org/index.cfm?event=showreports&page=reports
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Americas & caribbean
Coordination Europe - Haiti
On 6 June 2006, a delegation of the Coordination Europe-Haiti met with Johan Van Hecke, MEP, at the European Parliament (EP) in Brussels. Mr. Van Hecke is the Vice President of the Human Rights Committee and Member of the Asia Pacific Caribbean-EU Assembly and was also the Head of the EP delegation monitoring the latest elections inaiti. Haiti. Haiti. Haiti. At the meeting, four issues around the topic of Haiti were discussed: juridical reform, conflict prevention and resolution, conditions for EU financial aid to the country, and economic integration. The Coordination also met on 9 June 2006 in Brussels, in which Chenet Jean Baptiste from Commission Episcopale Nationale Justice et Paix (JILAP), a Pax Christi Member Organisation, participated.
On 28 June 2006, members of the Coordination participated in a meeting with Haitian President René Préval and Dr. Rénald Clérismé, Haitian Minister for Foreign Affairs, at the European Parliament. Fr. Paul Lansu of the International Secretariat attended the meetings.
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Elections in Haiti: A Lesson and a Challenge
The Research and Reflection Group (GRR) of JILAP in Haiti, a Member Organisation with Pax Christi International, issued a document entitled, “The elections of 7 February 2006: A Lesson and A Challenge for the Democratic Construction of the Country.” The document was released in May 2006 and is available in French: AM.44.F.06 and Creole, AM. 44.C.06.
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Pastoral Land Commission in Brazil
The Comissäo Pastoral da Terra (CPT), a Member Organisation with Pax Christi International in Brazil, held its General Assembly from 4 to 7 April 2006. The delegates elected a new National Coordination of which Dom Xavier Gilles de Maupeou D’Ableiges is the new President. Dom Xavier is the bishop of Viana and participated in the Triennial World Assembly of Pax Christi International in New Jersey, 2004. The new elected Coordination will take responsibilities until May 2009. Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the CPT presented its 2005 annual report at the Assembly. More at http://www.cptnacional.org.br
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Asia & Pacific
Pax Christi International Expresses Concern for Indonesia’s Earthquake Victims
An earthquake on the island of Java, Indonesia on 27 May 2006 killed, wounded or displaced thousands of people. In a letter addressed to Member Organisation Forum of Indonesian Catholic Society & Association of Indonesian Catholic Scholars (FMKI) in Yogyakarta on 29th May 2006, Pax Christi International conveyed its prayers for the victims of the earthquake and expressed its concern for and solidarity with the staff at FMKI. For the entire letter, read AP.52.E.06. For those readers who want to help, please contact FMKI via e-mail:
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Pakistan NGO Support Group meets in Geneva
The Pakistan NGO Support Group (PSG), a coalition of various international organisations including Pax Christi International, World Council of Churches, Franciscans International and local Pakistan bodies including the National Commission for Justice & Peace and Amnesty International Pakistan met on 4 April 2006 in Geneva. This was the third meeting called by the PSG to exchange information on human rights issues in Pakistan, to allow three interns to share their commitments for future work in Pakistan, and to identify priorities and issues for PSG to work on within a timeframe agreed upon at the meeting. For detailed minutes, see AP.53.E.06.