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Iraq – One Year after occupation Words from the World Council of Churches’s United Nations Office – Commission of the Churches on International Affairs New York – March 20, 2004 One year after the pre-emptive, illegal attack on Iraq, the World Council of Churches calls upon all to reflect on its seen and unforeseen consequences, and to reaffirms its previous conviction that the war on Iraq was immoral, ill-advised and in breach of the principles of the UN Charter. Beyond the physical pains that so many Iraqis feel it’s the trauma and anxiety of the future that haunt the larger Iraqi population. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “True peace is not merely the absence of tension, it is the presence of justice.” There can be no true justice for the Iraqi people when there is the absence of a permanent Iraqi government based on free, democratic elections with the adherence to a constitution that would protect all religious, ethnic and national groupings while maintaining the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Human rights and the rule of law must be at the forefront of all efforts to encourage the building of representative, democratic institutions. The World Council of Churches notes with dismay the impact of the military and economic occupation of Iraq brought upon by the United States, Britain and others. We continue to be very concerned about the long-term political, social, cultural and religious consequences of the war and the continued occupation. Secretary General Kofi Annan in March or 2003, a week before the war began said this to journalists in The Hague “If the US and others were to go outside the Security Council and take military action, it would not be in conformity with the UN Charter. All around the globe, people want to see this crisis resolved peacefully. In certain circumstances the use of force may be necessary to secure a lasting peace. But the reality is that it would cause great human suffering, whether it is long or short; that it may lead to regional instability and economic crises; and it can – as it often has before – lead to unintended consequences, producing new threats and dangers.” The impact continues to exacerbate intense hatred towards the “western world” strengthening extremist ideologies, which breeds further global insecurity. The World Council of Churches calls upon the occupying powers led by the United States and Britain to quickly put an end to the occupation of Iraq, and allow the United Nations to manage the affairs of Iraq while seeking to build up and strengthen a system where true democracy, the rule of law, good governance and respect for all will prevail for the Iraqi people. The WCC hopes that we as a world would come to a new consciousness that would enable us all to see ourselves more as belonging to a vulnerable and interdependent global community in which we have a mandate to bear one another’s burdens and share in the sufferings of others. We affirm the churches, Christian communities and all people of Iraq in their struggle for justice and peace and urge all governments and people across the world to work together so that quickly the Iraqi people can experience a nation marked by human rights, human security and the right to life in dignity for all. Churches in the Middle East | IRAQ 2004 | Pacem in Terris | | Global Summaey: Children and HIV/AIDS 2004 | The Search for Peace (A) | The Search for Peace (B) | POVERTY ERADICATION (A) | Poverty Eradication (B) | Social Development | A Human Rights Approach to Issues (A) | | News Center | Vincentian Issues 2004-2005 A | Vincentian Issues 2004-2005 B | Jeff Sachs -Meeting the MDG's | The Whole World Knew | Anglicans - Water | | Return Home | About Us | What's New | Current Focus | Articles | Great Links | E-mail | |
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