28.04.2023

Acting together for Human Dignity and Human Rights!

The Participants of the Symposium, Photo: Grégoire de Fombelle /WCC

Photo: Grégoire de Fombelle /WCC

"We as pastors will consistently make human rights a core part of our preaching and teaching."  For Pastor Martin Ngana from Cameroon, this issue was evident at the end of the symposium "Act Together: Churches' joint action and advocacy for Human Dignity and Human Rights!"  in Bossey / Genf.

From April 25 to 26, 2023, The United Evangelical Mission (UEM) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) had invited master students of theology from different continents to reflect on the biblical witness for human dignity and human rights and to strengthen church action for victims of human rights violations.

"Standing up for human rights is not an additional challenge for churches, but an immanent part of Christian advocacy for justice" - said Rev. Dr. Jochen Motte, Deputy General Secretary of the UEM and Member of the Board, responsible for the Program on Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, who introduced biblical perspectives on human dignity and human rights into the discussion.

Peter Prove, director of the WCC's Commission on International Affairs, emphasized the challenge of strengthening Christian witness and action for peace and justice in the face of international crises such as geopolitical division and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In the view of Dr. Andar Parlindungan, Executive Secretary Training & Empowerment Department of the UEM and Member of the Board, the first priority is that "justice" is not a secondary matter, but a central component of faith in the Christian God who revealed himself to Israel and then in Jesus Christ to all people as a God of love and justice.

Students from countries such as India, Romania, Cameroon, Kenya and Nigeria contributed to the discussion their experiences of injustice, intimidation and violence against women, ethnic and other minorities by society and state authorities. They discussed with the representatives of the UEM and the WCC how churches both locally and globally can effectively strengthen their role as advocates for justice and human rights. 

Samuel Akinola, whose family members were themselves victims of violence and human rights violations, emphasized that it is the mission of the church to support victims of human rights violations. Eva Abel from Kenya feels that the conference has enabled her to address injustice and violence, especially against women, with the help of various instruments for human rights protection.

Also invited and substantially involved in the seminar were Professor Dr. Simone Sinn, dean of the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, and Professor Dr. Benjamin Simon, a member of the WCC's Church Relations Steering Committee. Simon expressed the following insight in light of the inputs and discussions: "Justice must always be understood as a relational concept. Where relationships between God and humans but also between people and also nature are in trouble, justice is difficult to establish."

The UEM also supports the WCC by sponsoring a professorship in mission and ecumenism at the Bossey Institute. As an associate member of the WCC, the UEM has worked closely with it programmatically since 1996. In Karlsruhe, at the 2022 WCC General Assembly, the UEM had published contributions from all over the world, after a three-year study process in which the Evangelical Church in Germany was also involved, in the publication, "Strengthening Christian Perspectives on Human Dignity and Human Rights". (This publication is available for download here).