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• Religious Freedom in Afghanistan Tops Agenda at U.S. State Department Meeting
• Adventists Affirm Truth in Journalism

Religious Freedom in Afghanistan Tops Agenda at U.S. State Department Meeting

Left to Right: Scott Carpenter, Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; Paula Dobriansky, Under Secretary for Global Affairs; Tom Farr, director of the Office of International Religious Freedom

Washington, D.C., USA ... [ANN] Religious freedom issues placed top of the agenda at a U.S. State Department meeting called to develop strategies for the rebuilding of civil society in Afghanistan. Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, United Nations Liaison director for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, participated in the roundtable discussion, emphasizing that changes in societal attitudes were just as important as the recognition of international agreements on religious liberty.

"Many countries around the world have wonderful constitutions that guarantee religious freedom and human right, but are among the world's worst persecutors," he said. "What is just as important is to work with people on the ground to develop an appreciation for the fundamental concepts of religious freedom and tolerance. As a faith community dedicated to such values, the Adventist church recommits itself to doing all it can to promote and develop freedom of conscience and religious toleration in every nation, including Afghanistan."

"Religion and faith are the basis on which tolerance and values are predicated," noted U.S. State Department under-secretary for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky. "Our strategy for Afghanistan is not only a broad-based government with ethnic, religious and gender representation but also a society built on religious tolerance for all of its citizens."

The December 14 meeting brought together representatives of many religious groups and was addressed by spokespersons for the four major faiths of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism.

Concluding the meeting, Tom Farr, director of the US State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom spoke of his "hope for prosperity, stability and peace in Afghanistan," and called for "all religious traditions represented here to contribute to that hope." [Viola R Hughes]

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Adventists Affirm Truth in Journalism

Samantha Burchard and Matt Mills

New York, New York, USA ... Representatives from the Seventh-day Adventist church affirmed commitment to principles in journalism at a meeting in the United Nations on December 6, 2001.

The meeting entitled "News vs. Propaganda: The Gatekeepers Dilemma," focused on how the media is influenced in unstable times. "As Adventists we are committed to principles of truth and honesty in reporting. Propaganda on the other hand is often used to distort the truth," says Samantha Burchard U.N. Liaison officer for the Adventist Church.

The meeting, called by the Department of Public Information at the U.N. was attended by representatives from CNN, the BBC, Mary Robinson the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Al Jazeera, a middle-eastern television news agency.

Information is often distorted or withheld from individuals in the best interest of 'security,' especially in countries where the government controls the media, commented Matt Mills, U.N. Liaison Officer for the Adventist Church. "What it comes down to is a human rights issue," says Mills. "The use of propaganda by the media deprives individuals of their right to fair and accurate information. How can someone form an opinion with distorted facts?"

U.N. High Commissioner For Human Rights Mary Robinson agrees, stating that "This is the bleakest time for human rights." In her comments relayed live to the meeting, she continued by saying that the lack of a free press means not only that people's access to fair and accurate information is restricted, but also that many other human rights issues go unreported, or unnoticed.

Both eastern and western news agencies agreed that truth in journalism requires telling both sides of the story without bias. However Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, special representative of the Secretary General for Afghanistan said that the interests of a country cloud the moral obligations of the media. This requires a commitment to truth in reporting by all journalists.

The Adventist Church provides news and information of interest to and about Adventists through its news service, ANN, available at www.adventist.org. Issues relating to Adventists and the United Nations can be found at un.adventist.org. [Matt Mills]

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