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• Adventist Leader Applauds US Congress on the Sudan Peace Act
• Adventist Church's UN Rep Calls Turkmenistan Situation "Appalling"
• South Africa: Church Leader Appalled at Rise in Child Exploitation

Adventist Leader Applauds US Congress on the Sudan Peace Act

Washington, D.C....US President Bush signed the Sudan Peace Act, H.R. 5531, into law on October 21, 2002. In a statement released by the White House, President Bush said, "The Act is designed to help address the evils inflicted on the people of Sudan by their government - including senseless suffering, use of emergency food relief as a weapon of war, and the practice of slavery."

Over 2 million people have been killed and 4 million displaced since 1983, and there has been no significant movement for peace. More than 150 reports of civilian bombings were reported, which destroyed human lives, property, infrastructure, and disrupted humanitarian-relief activities.

"The Sudan Peace Act is the fruit of a concerted effort by a disparate coalition of faith groups who are working tirelessly to bring US pressure to bear on the Khartoum government to stop brutal persecution of people of faith in that nation," notes attorney James Standish, director for legislative affairs for the Seventh-day Adventist church.

The Adventist church has been actively working to stop the persecution in the Sudan. The Church's annual World Report on religious freedom lists Sudan among the nations with the most severe restrictions on religious liberty. This past Spring in Geneva, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, United Nations Liaison director for the Adventist church, expressed the Church's concern to the U.N. Commission for Human Rights over the horrific violence against Christians and animists in the south of the country.

The Adventist church's South Sudan field (located in Uganda) has a membership of over 4,000 members, while its Sudan Field office (located in Central Khartoum) has approximately over 5,000 members. There are only 5 percent Christians in this population of over 37 million. [Viola Hughes]

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Adventist Church's UN Rep Calls Turkmenistan Situation "Appalling"
October 25, 2002

New York, NY... October 21, 2002. Newly-appointed UN liaison officer for the Adventist Church, Mindi Rahn, identified the human rights situation in Turkmenistan as "appalling."

Rahn was attending a meeting today on Turkmenistan's gross human rights and religious freedom violations organized by the Open Society Institute.

"Persecution even extends to the family members of those who dare to criticize the government," said Rahn. "The situation is truly appalling and is of great concern to all spporters of freedom and human rights. As one participant said, human rights in Turkmenistan are catastrophic."

Turkmen citizens, including the former foreign minister, testified to the bleakness of the current situation. Gross violations included the ban on political parties, ethnic and cultural organizations; detention, imprisonment and even persecution of those who dared to voice their concerns; no freedom of the press (all foreign newspapers are banned); limitations on family visiting relatives; $50,000 fee imposed those who want to wed a Turkmen citizen.

President Saparamurad Niyazov leads the country in what is often described as a dictatorship. Although the Turkmenistan Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and the separation of the state from religious organizations, religious freedom in Turkmenistan is a casualty of the repressive nature of the regime.

In 1999, the only Adventist church in Turkmenistan was destroyed by the authorities, and Adventist members have been intimidated and harassed. [Viola Hughes]

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South Africa: Church Leader Appalled at Rise in Child Exploitation
October 21, 2002

Silver Spring, MD... October 21, 2002. Commenting on a recent preliminary report released by the United Nations on the rise of child exploitation in South Africa, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, UN liaison director for the Adventist Church, called on all church leaders and other non-governmental organizations to reach out to the African community in their fight against HIV/AIDS and the exploitation of young children. "The Adventist Church has always advocated for the rights of the child to education and health. We need to pull our resources together now more than ever so that each child will be protected and given the opportunity for a better life," Gallagher said.

United Nations human rights expert, Juan Miguel Petit, completed a visit to South Africa last month to meet with government officials and those from the Department of Social Development and Department of Health. In a preliminary report, Mr. Petit commented that young children are being targeted as sexual partners in order to reduce the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. He also reported that there is a myth among adult individuals who believe that sex with a virgin would cure them of the disease.

For this reason, the Adventist church has established a worldwide AIDS task force, with a special committee under the direction of the church's health director, Dr. Allan Handysides. Handysides reported that in an effort to help combat the rise of HIV/AIDS, one of the initiatives the Adventist church began was a downlink program that launched this past August to educate children in Adventist schools in South Africa. The church also appointed Dr. Oscar Giordano this past May to head up a new Office of HIV/AIDS ministry, which will be located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The office will be staffed in January 2003. Dr. Giordano has served as a medical missionary for the past 11 years in Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, and Madagascar.

The downlink program was made possible via support received by Adventist health professionals in South Africa; to date a total of US$50,000 has been received.

Church administrators in Eastern Africa have also created an HIV/AIDS team to prepare resources for pastors and other church leaders. The team will be made up of staff from the church's health, family, youth, children, and women's ministries departments.

According to this year's United Nations AIDS report, about 3.5 million Africans were infected last year alone, while the number of adults and children living with the disease in sub-Saharan Africa rose to 28.5 million. A total of 2.2 million Africans have died from the AIDS disease.

The Special Rapporteur's full report will be presented to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva next Spring. [Viola Hughes]

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