World Council of Churches - Update
Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

For immediate release: 26 August 2004


WCC executive committee calls for international peace-keeping force and investigation of war crimes in Darfur


Full text of the statement available, see below.

The WCC executive committee meeting in Seoul from 24-27 August has deplored the ongoing humanitarian disaster and forced displacement of civilians in Western Sudan, and has urged the African Union and the United Nations to provide for an international peace-keeping force, the investigation of war crimes, and the full deployment of independent observers to monitor the ceasefire and human rights in the region.

"The ethnic cleansing which has taken place in Darfur must be reversed before it takes on the proportions of genocide," stated WCC director of International Affairs, Peter Weiderud. According to the United Nations, at least 50,000 people have died in 18 months of violence blamed on pro-government militia-men.

Reacting to the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Darfur, the WCC executive committee "urged the government of Sudan to protect its civilian population and to disarm the pro-government militia," and calls on all parties to work for peace and reconciliation. The WCC committee recognized the international mobilization of churches and related agencies in support of peace, reconciliation and rehabilitation efforts in Sudan.

The statement was made as fresh peace talks between the warring parties are held in Nigeria. The WCC has been at the forefront of international ecumenical efforts to reach a lasting peace in the country. Sudan has been plagued by war almost constantly since independence in 1956, and in 2002 appointed a special ecumenical envoy, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, subsequently elected WCC general secretary, to accompany the peace negotiations there.

The WCC committee issued the statements during its meeting in Seoul, Korea, 24-27 August 2004 as part of its regular work on issues of international concern.

The WCC executive committee statement on Sudan will be available tomorrow on our website at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/press_corner/korea-sudan.html


This material may be reprinted freely.

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.