CWS, AACC, WCC to Unveil New Africa Peace Program

Church World Service, the All Africa Conference of Churches, and the World Council of Churches will unveil Eminent Persons Ecumenical Program for Africa tomorrow.

By Michelle A. Vu, Christian Post Reporter Thursday, November 17, 2005

Church World Service, the All Africa Conference of Churches, and the World Council of Churches will unveil an ambitious African peace program tomorrow.

The three ecumenical organizations are partners in a new program created to help solve conflicts in Africa by using respected Africans in peace-building efforts. The program, Eminent Persons Ecumenical Program for Africa (EPEPA), will launch on Nov. 18 in Accra, Ghana with the announcement of up to 15 names of eminent Africans that will serve as members of the traveling task force. Among the list of more than 25 names to be selected are former South African President Nelson Mandela, Bishop Desmond Tutu, and Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai of Kenya.

The African peace program relies on “the incredible resource embodied in the elders and distinguished individuals already in our midst,” to resolve conflicts in communities in Africa, said the Rev. John McCullough, executive director and CEO of Church World Service (CWS).

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“It is the moral authority,” of these wise and renowned eminent Africans which will “help to bring people to the table to negotiate peace,” said McCullough.

The program developed out of the awareness of the faith community’s power to influence peace among Africans and a desire to “be more aggressive about intervening at a reconciling presence to stop the widespread violence on the continent,” said CWS in a release statement.

The task force consists of experienced mediators and peacemakers following the African traditions of consulting respected and trusted village elders to solve community problems. The tradition is deeply rooted in the culture of all African nations, leading EPEPA to use it as a model for its peace-building initiative.

The 10-to-15-person task force will be chosen based on their experience and expertise and will be available for short notice deployment to trouble spots, where they will use their training, experience, and status as “Eminent Persons” to engage the parties involved in active or potential conflicts in talks aimed at achieving peaceful solutions, explained CWS.

Moreover, the “Eminent Persons” will make recommendations on actions that government bodies and ecumenical agencies can take to solve the problem. The conflicts include national, political as well as local resource-driven conflicts.

Partners of the program also believe that the timeliness of the program will help make it an effective tool in solving African conflicts.

"This ecumenical instrument comes at a time when the role of religion in public life is gaining greater currency and acceptance in society. It comes at a time when the need and desire for peacemaking, reconciliation, and healing is embraced by the parties to the conflict. It comes at a time when the concept of regional solutions to regional problems is being translated into practical projects in Africa, with a reasonable degree of success," said Dr. Samuel Kobia, General Secretary of World Council of Churches.

Church World Service – the relief, development, and refugee assistance agency supported by 36 Protestant, Orthodox, and Anglican denominations in the United States – has a decades-long history of working in partnership with indigenous organizations on the continent around development, peacebuilding, and advocacy issues.

The agency has intensified work in Africa with the CWS Africa Initiative. In September, CWS officially dedicated several wells in Kenya that will provide a reliable local source of clean water and end local conflicts over the limited water resources. The Kenyan wells is an example of a project in the CWS Africa Initiative program where CWS and partners identify and develop solutions to problems such as displaced people, hunger and poverty, water, HIV/AIDS and peacebuilding in Africa.