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• Azerbaijan: Police Refuse to Protect Adventists Facing Death Threats
• Church Representative Condemns Death Penalty for Conversion
• Adventists Participate in Culture of Peace Exhibit
• UN Liaison Officers Participate in Non-Violence Conference

Azerbaijan: Police Refuse to Protect Adventists Facing Death Threats

Police have refused to protect an Adventist pastor in Nakhichevan, who has been threatened by local men with death or being driven out of the community. "People phone and come to my house to threaten us but the authorities have refused to help," Pastor Khalid Babaev told Forum 18 News Service. Pastor Babaev fears for the safety of his wife and son, and does not know if it will be safe to hold a service as usual next Saturday. Local Muslims have threatened to sacrifice Babaev as a holy duty and to halt Adventist religious activity in Nakhichevan. If Pastor Babaev holds another service, he has been told that a mob will be collected to attack his house. The police have refused to discuss the threats with Forum 18, or say what they would do to protect church members from the threatened violence. (Forum 18)

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Church Representative Condemns Death Penalty for Conversion

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND… Enforcing the death penalty for changing one’s religion or belief is the most extreme form of religious intolerance, according to a statement made at the 59th Session of the Commission on Human Rights on March 15, 2003, by the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s United Nations Liaison Office.

This year, the Adventist Church and the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA) expect to raise the issue again at the Human Rights Commission’s 60th Session. They are also seeking the support of member organizations of the Committee of NGOs on Freedom of Religion or Belief.

On February 10, 2004, Juan Perla, UN liaison officer for the Adventist Church, delivered a statement at the Committee’s meeting, which called on member organizations to co-sign a joint statement denouncing the death penalty for apostasy.

“At the dawn of the 21st century, the death penalty is considered by most civilized nations as an unacceptable punishment,” says Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, UN liaison director for the Adventist Church. “The freedom to change one’s religion or belief is supported in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; however, some states continue to enforce the death penalty for conversion in their legal codes.”

Dr. Gallagher will be attending the Commission for Human Rights 60th Session from March 31 – April 7, 2004, and he will be addressing issues of violations of conscience and religious liberty. [Viola Hughes/Juan Perla]

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8-year old Susan Maraldi's pix of the World Trade Center.

Adventists Participate in Culture of Peace Exhibit

New York, NY, February 5, 2004. More than 400 people gathered at the United Nations yesterday to celebrate the opening of "A Culture of Peace for the Children of the World." Organized in conjunction with the United Nations International Decade for the Culture of Peace and Nonviolence, students worldwide submitted essays and artwork to depict their understanding of peace and nonviolence.

"Why do people hate each other?" asked 8-year-old Susan Maraldi who drew a picture of the World Trade Center Towers.

The Dream Wall

Stressing the important role the exhibit will play in educating young people about the importance of peace, UN Under-Secretary General Anwarul Chowdhury said, "If young people grow up to incorporate a culture of peace within themselves, the world will be a better place."

In a statement released that day, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said, "It is not enough to send peacekeeping forces to separate warring parties, all of this is essential work, but we want enduring results. We need, in short, a culture of peace."

Mural of some paintings.

"Adventists have always sought to promote peace and harmony," comment Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, the Church's UN Liaison director. "We take very seriously Jesus' command to be peacemakers, and we have numerous statements on the importance of peace and non-violence. Violence and war are examples of evil, and all over the world people live in fear. The gospel is the answer to such evils."

UN Liaison officers for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Rachel Bostic and Kelly Razzouk contributed by submitting their "dream of peace." Razzouk wrote that her dream is "a world free from fear." She also added, "a world where children are lulled to sleep by their mother's soothing lullabies and not by the roar of tanks and exploding bombs."

Rachel Bostic at the Culture of Peace Exhibit.

Worldwide, conflict has killed more than 2 million, while some 6 million maimed in conflict situations over the past decade. Over 20 million have been displaced by war. Children in war-zone areas are also subjected to sexual abuse and exploitation. Orphaned in war or separated from their parents, children are profoundly traumatized by the struggle for simple survival. In addition, more than 300,000 children are fighting in 30 countries around the world.

A strong advocate for peace, the Adventist Church's statement of peace (released in 1985) states that "it is right and proper for Christians to promote peace. The Adventist Church urges every nation to beat its swords into plowshares and its spears into pruninghooks (Isa. 2:4). The Church's Bible-based Fundamental Belief No. 7 states that men and women were "created for the glory of God" and were "called to love Him and one another, and to care for their environment," not to destroy or hurt one another.

In a world filled with hate and struggle, a world of ideological strife and of military conflicts, Seventh-day Adventists desire to be known as peacemakers and work for worldwide justice and peace under Christ as the head of a new humanity." [Viola Hughes]

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UN Liaison Officers Participate in Non-Violence Conference

New York, NY... More than 200 youth from around New York City gathered for a youth nonviolence conference to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. day.

UN liaison officers, Rachel Bostic and Kelly Razzouk were privileged to conduct a workshop to some youth, entitlted, The Power of One: My Role in Changing the World. "I came to the conference to share insights with these students, but they ended up teaching me so many things," said Razzouk. "Through their eyes I was able to see the problems they face everyday -- drugs, gang wars in school, and lack of positive outlets for them to express their emotions and ideas. I also saw compassion for others and a desire to make a difference in the world."

The Conference was organized by the Mosaic Youth Project and held at the Soka Gakkai International building. [Viola Hughes]

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