Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice to Be Held March 5-8 in Washington, D.C. 3/3/2004
From: Kirsten Anderson-Stembridge, 202-669-4712, Mark Brown, 301-706-4110 News Advisory: Delegates from across the nation will converge in Washington, D.C. on Friday, March 5 to advocate for global peace with justice. The conference and visits to congressional representatives are being sponsored by a coalition of 26 churches and religious groups. The focus will be on four regions of the world-Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East-and on trade and debt issues and nuclear disarmament. Middle East policy experts will join U.S. church leaders for a look at the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace. Delegates concerned about Africa will hear reports on U.S. trade policy toward Africa, HIV/AIDS, the right to water, and conflicts in Sudan and Liberia. North Korean militarism, human rights and humanitarian aid will be the focus of the Asia track. Colombia, which until recently was the third largest U.S. aid recipient, will headline the Latin America track. In 2002 Colombia received more free U.S. military training than any other nation. Sessions on March 5, 6 and 7 will take place at the Doubletree Hotel in Crystal City, Virginia, and on March 8 at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill in Washington. The theme of the Advocacy Days is "I Will Feed Them with Justice," a quotation from the book of the prophet Ezekiel. Among the prominent speakers will be: Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, new general secretary of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches and former head of the National Council of Churches of Kenya; Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat chair for peace and development, University of Maryland; Peter M. Beck, director of research, Korean Economic Institute; Ellen Laipson, president, Henry L. Stimson Center; and Lee Sigal, director, Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project, Social Science Research Council. Also Rev. Dr. Syngman Rhee, a Korean American born in North Korea, former president of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and former moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA); Rt. Rev. Andudu Elnail, Anglican Bishop of Kadugli-Nuba Mountains, Sudan; Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson, executive minister of Justice and Witness Ministries of the United Church of Christ; Jim Winkler, general secretary of the United Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society; Rev. Milton Mejia, noted peace leader of the Presbyterian Church, Barranquilla, Colombia; Marino Cordoba, Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians; and Lisa Haugaard, director, Latin America Working Group. Neville Gabriel, coordinating secretary, Justice and Peace Department, South Africa Catholic Bishops' Conference; Bishop C. Dale White (ret.), United Methodist Church, Rhode Island; Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar, general secretary, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA; Jonathan Dean, advisor on global security issues, Union of Concerned Scientists; Eric Olson, consultant, Amnesty International; and Michael Tarazi, legal advisor to the Palestine Liberation Organization. All sessions of the conference are open to the media and interviews with individual speakers or delegates from particular states can be arranged. For a list of event sponsors and other information go to: http://www.advocacydays.org | |