News
Cf. WCC Press Update, UP-03-02 of 5 February 2003
Cf. WCC Press Release, PR-03-03 of 3 February 2003
"War must not be considered a normal way of solving conflicts," said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser to German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder during a meeting with an international delegation of church leaders on Wednesday, 5 February.
The meeting, to discuss the leaders' common declaration against war in Iraq, took place at the close of a one-day consultation convened by the WCC, in consultation with the Conference of European Churches (CEC), the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCCCUSA) and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and hosted by the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD).
Präses Manfred Kock, chairman of the EKD, noted that the meeting with Schroeder was requested particularly because Germany holds the chair of the Security Council this month. Kock shared his hope that with strong leadership, the Security Council will uphold the United Nations mandate to seek all peaceful means of resolving the crisis.
Recalling that the first WCC assembly in Amsterdam in 1948 stated clearly that "war is contrary to the will of God", Raiser noted that the assembly took place just after World War II, which was considered by many as a "just" war. At the same time, the United Nations charter had also rejected war as a legitimate means to solve disputes. "Now, war is again being considered as a legitimate tool... We are called upon as Christians to oppose this," he said.
While agreeing with the church leaders' position on war in Iraq, Schroeder was careful to differentiate his basic approach. He noted that, by joining actions in the Balkans and maintaining troops in Afghanistan, he had changed the German tradition, since World War II, of non-involvement in military actions. He emphasized that the German government does not want to hide from military commitments.
In the case of Iraq, while Schroeder agrees with the US and others on the need for a change of regime, he questions whether that goal can be achieved through war. But the church leaders' declaration states that "pre-emptive military strike and war as a means to change the regime of a sovereign state are immoral and in violation of the UN Charter." The church leaders and Schroeder did agree that more time should be given for the weapons inspectors to do their work, and for pressure to be applied so that any weapons of mass destruction could be destroyed.
The church delegation met with Schroeder as US secretary of state Colin Powell was addressing the UN Security Council. Schroeder welcomed the initiative of sharing evidence regarding Iraq and weapons of mass destruction, and noted that Germany gave all the evidence it had back in November. But he emphasized that solutions to the crisis other than war must be found to achieve disarmament.
Raiser emphasized the point made in the consultation's declaration that the principles of the UN Charter "strictly limit the legitimate use of military force", and expressed the hope that Germany, as chair of the Security Council, would uphold the ideals of the UN to work towards an international order committed to peace and reconciliation.
The declaration from the consultation can be found at:
www2.wcc-coe.org/PressReleases_en.nsf/index/pu-02-03.html
Photos from the consultation are available at www.photooikoumene.org/events/events.html