News March 2007

UN Special rapporteur speaks to NGOs

UN Expert Defends Importance of Combating Religious Intolerance

Geneva, Switzerland… Ending religious intolerance is "far from a reality" concludes United Nations special rapporteur Asma Jahangir in her latest report to the UN Human Rights Council. She reiterated her concerns at a special meeting with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on March 28 at the UN Palais des Nations in Geneva.

Responding to a question from Seventh-day Adventist Church representative Jonathan Gallagher, she said that her religious freedom mandate was "wide and important, and as deep as you want to go," and because of limitations on financial and human resources, she had addressed "so far only the periphery."

The whole process of independent UN experts is under review by the new UN Human Rights Council, with some states actively campaigning to end independent investigation of their own poor human rights records, while others cite financial constraints as an argument to limit the work of these UN investigators.

Jahangir referenced these issues and said that it "depends on political will, and the sincerity of member states" in making better contributions and strengthening the mandate to counter religious intolerance. She appealed to the NGO community to support her Freedom of Religion or Belief work, and to cooperate in researching and reporting abuses of religious freedom wherever they occurred.

The role of this special rapporteur derives from the 1981 UN Declaration against Religious Intolerance that received input from Adventist church representatives and is widely regarded as one of the best international documents for defending fundamental religious human rights. [PARL News]

Adventist women leaders at the United Nations

Adventists Call for Elimination of Violence Against Women and Children

New York, NY…USA. March 5, 2007. Five Seventh-day Adventists were among thousands of women who voiced their concerns in deploring violence against women and the girl child at the United Nations' 51st Session on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The meetings began on February 26 and will end March 9.

Reports from member states and experts provided some alarming statistics on the conditions of women and the girl child. About 55 million girls are out of formal school and 82 million girls will marry by the age of 13. A frightening 2-3 million live in sexual servitude and will never have access to basic human rights, while 218 million are child laborers.

"While policies and collaborative efforts were among items on the agenda, there remains a need for accountability at every level of government, home, society and institution," said Viola Poey Hughes, who led the delegation and was among the chosen non-governmental speakers to address the expert panel on the elimination of violence on women and the girl child. "In Israel, there is an estimated 300,000 girls between the ages of 12 and 18. Of that, an estimated 10% are considered 'at risk' or 'in distress' and are eligible to receive social services."

Attending for the first time, Dr. Linda Koh, director for Children's Ministries for the Adventist church, spoke about the importance for the church to be involved in eradicating violence against women and children. "As a church, we need to be more organized, specifically to minister to the victims of this problem at all levels. In many parts of the world girls face harmful social and traditional practices, such as child brides, genital mutilation, and denial of an education."

In its statement to the CSW, the Adventist Church stressed the importance of developing concrete and practical programs, such as literacy projects, Touch a Heart, Tell the World (an emphasis on ministry through women's involvement), and a four level leadership training program; all developed by the Department of Women's Ministries.

"We have a strong conviction about freedom and responsibility, and the human rights of every person," expressed Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, UN liaison director for the Adventist church, who not only generated this year's statement, but encouraged the participation of Adventist women at this important UN forum. "Our theology mandates our support of attempts to aid the oppressed and violated - to bring comfort and healing of God's children."

Also attending for the first time was Nancy Kyte, director for marketing for Adventist Mission. "This is my first opportunity to observe the United Nations at work. Every meeting is full of statistics and information about global challenges that affect young girls. One fact especially boggles my mind: there are more than 31 million people around the world who are trafficked for exploitation purposes. Of that number, more than 10 million are children. We need to consider what we can do to help the survivors of this kind of slavery. There are millions of them."
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro encouraged this year's CSW to take bold steps to improve the lives of girls worldwide. "…Violence against women and girls remains pervasive-perpetrated by family members, strangers and agents of the State in all regions of the world, in the public and private spheres, in peacetime and during conflict." Ms. Migiro further explained that the current Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) are inadequate because "neither codifies laws that consistently address the plight of girls, while the failure of States to incorporate provisions from the two treaties has also lead to the persistence of violence and discrimination." Ms. Migiro suggested that more needs to be done to fully implement existing legal norms and policies, to focus efforts to prosecute and punish perpetrators, to dedicate sufficient resources, and to fully involve men and boys in changing stereotypical attitudes and behaviors.

This year's CSW drew more than 5,000 women worldwide and about 100 member states from countries such as Morocco, China, Indonesia, Romania, Italy, Ghana, Kenya, and Australia. Participants had the opportunity to choose from a wide variety of seminars and panel discussions, network, exchange information and obtain resources. The Adventist Church was represented by Viola Poey Hughes (former UN liaison specialist and currently Associate Director for Marketing and Development for the Hope Channel), Nancy Kyte, Linda Koh, Debbie Rapp (Carolina Conference of SDA), and Yvonne Knight (Greater New York Conference).

CSW Workshop in progress

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