In a joint letter to church leaders in Burundi, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the All Africa Conference of Churches expressed solidarity as the nation prepares for its 20 May elections.
A consultation in Arusha, Tanzania, has issued a communique entitled “Sustainable Peace in Burundi.” The meeting, organized by the World Council of Churches and the United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect, drew together Burundian religious leaders on 18-19 October.
Forty years after the Soweto uprising, leaders of churches in conflict-torn countries gathered in South Africa to study the ways of peace and reconciliation.
The African continent bears witness to the tragic consequences of the manipulation of religion to incite violence. Yet it is also the home of untold instances of the power of religious leaders and actors to exert a positive influence, said panellists at an international meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, today.
During a solidarity visit to Burundi 1-4 March, the World Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches sent a “Peace Message” urging all parties in Burundi to promote national unity, healing and reconciliation.
The World Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches have come together in expressing grave concern for the people of Burundi in a situation of extreme tension and escalating human rights violations.
The World Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches have expressed their profound concern over reports of widespread and violent demonstrations in the nation of Burundi. The fellowship of churches represented by these bodies is alarmed at the recent violent clashes in relation to forthcoming presidential elections.