Inter-Faith Groups Urged to
Send
Regional Peace Teams to Conflict
Areas
Noko Commends
Religious Leaders for Southern Africa Inter-Faith
Plan of
Action
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa/GENEVA, 3 October 2003 (LWI) -
A
two-day inter-faith conference for the Southern African
region
ended in
Johannesburg on with the adoption of a Plan of Action
calling on
religious
leaders to send regional peace teams to
areas of conflict wherever
these
arise in Southern Africa.
With this appeal, religious leaders from
the
eleven countries
represented at the conference, affirmed their ongoing
commitment
to seeking and maintaining peace in the region and to move
from
consultation to action.
Faith groups should be able to call
upon
each other speedily and
interact effectively in time of need, the
declaration
reads. For
this reason, delegates committed themselves to implement
some
practical steps as soon as possible. These include
the
establishment
of inter-faith groups in countries where these do
not yet exist;
gathering of
a reliable database of faith
institutions and religious leaders; and
holding
at least one
inter-faith conference or indaba (consultation) plus
one
capacity workshop every year in each country. Also included
is
the
regular reporting by national inter-faith groups to the
regions; and
the
establishment of a quarterly newsletter.
The Southern Africa
Inter-Faith
Plan of Action was adopted by
more than 50 religious representatives of
the
African Traditional
Religion, Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish
and
Muslim
faiths. It is based on the Johannesburg Inter-Faith
Declaration
Embracing the Gift of Peace, a shared commitment to
safeguarding
peace in Africa, which was the outcome of the 2002
Inter-Faith
Peace Summit in Africa.
The regional plan of action
from
the conference will be carried
back to the countries of Southern Africa
with
the task of
promoting dialogue between faith communities, including
the
witnessing and better understanding of each others rites
of
worship.
It also mandates the respective religious groups to
pro-actively
involve
themselves in social, educational and
health
projects.
Acknowledging
the devastating effect of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in
the region, the plan
of
action also calls on religious leaders to
support their respective
governments in their efforts to find
solutions and also deal with this
issue
by advocating a moral
lifestyle as prescribed by our respective
teachings.
In his closing remarks, Rev. Dr. Ishmael Noko, General
Secretary
of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) described the
declaration
as a miracle. It took time and patience and spiritual
maturity
to achieve this, he said.
The conference was organized
by the
LWF and hosted by the
National Religious Leaders Forum of South Africa
(NRLFSA).
Participants came from Angola, Botswana, Lesotho,
Malawi,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe
and
South Africa. There were also representatives from Senegal
and
Kenya.
Similar meetings are planned for the Western and
Eastern/Central
regions.
(457 words)
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