Religions’ Roles in Peacebuilding in The Gambia

His Excellency Ambassador Professor Muhammadou M.O. Kah is Ambassador of The Republic of The Gambia to the Swiss Confederation and is a permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, the World Trade Organization, and other international organizations at Geneva. The following is an edited summary of his remarks at the ICLRS 29th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 4 October 2022.

The Gambia Post-2017: Vision with Action

The Gambia places a high priority on the promotion and protection of human rights. Our constitution and supporting legislation reflect that, as do ongoing legislative and criminal justice reforms that began in 2017. The year 2017 is an important one for The Gambia, which was held hostage for 22 years under a dictatorship. The country’s human rights credentials were unimpeachable prior to those 22 years. Since 2017, when the people of The Gambia decided to vote out the 22-year dictatorship, the country has embarked on restoring what it was known for: being the true hub of human dignity and human rights, peace, and security in West Africa, and an example for the African continent. We strive to ensure that our citizens can exercise their civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights effectively, regardless of their ethnicity, race, place of origin, political opinion, gender, and importantly, their religion. Accordingly, the government’s vision of putting in place solid mechanisms in 2017 to promote and protect human rights in The Gambia has borne fruits, although the work towards its sustainability continues. This reminds me of words invoked by the late former president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela: “Action without vision is only passing time. Vision without action is merely daydreaming. But vision with action can change the world.”[1]

(more…)

Continue Reading Religions’ Roles in Peacebuilding in The Gambia

Peacebuilding and the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Jennifer G. Woods is Legal Counsel and the Director of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty at the Lake Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. She delivered the following remarks during a panel discussing “Religion’s Roles in Peacebuilding: Reflections from Religious Leaders” at the ICLRS 29th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 4 October 2022. At that time, she was Associate Director of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Department of Public Affairs and Religious Liberty.

We are living in an increasingly unstable and dangerous world.[1]

Total War

Humanity has, since the middle of the last century, been living in an age of total war. Total war implies the theoretical possibility that, except for the providence of God, earth’s inhabitants could wipe out their entire civilization. Nuclear weapons and biochemical arms of mass destruction are aimed at centers of population. Whole nations and societies are mobilized or targeted for war, and when such war erupts it is carried on with the greatest violence and destruction. The justification of war has become more complex, even though advances in technology make possible greater precision in destroying targets with a minimum of civilian casualties.

(more…)

Continue Reading Peacebuilding and the Seventh-day Adventist Church

The AMAR Foundation: Remedies to Religious Persecution, Lessons in Peacebuilding

Andrew Methven is The AMAR International Charitable Foundation’s Chief of Staff, based in its London office. The following is an edited summary of his remarks given 3 October 2022 at the ICLRS 29th Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, which focused on “Religion’s Roles in Peacebuilding.”

The Work of the AMAR Foundation

The AMAR International Charitable Foundation was founded by our chairman, Baroness Emma Nicholson of Winterbourne, in 1991 to aid the Marsh Arabs, who had been driven by Saddam Hussein to refugee camps in Lebanon and Iran. AMAR’s model was to provide practical help in the form of health care, through Primary Health Care Clinics (PHCCs), and education, through schools. It relied on using Iraqis’ own human capital—doctors and teachers—and raising funds at the market rate for them to run their own clinics and schools in the refugee camps. After the fall of Saddam Hussein, AMAR went on to establish 83 schools and 75 clinics in Baghdad and the Basra Marshes, now mostly handed over to local authorities in a sustainable way. Over the years, AMAR has delivered more than 10.5 million consultations. AMAR has also worked in other countries, including Romania/Ukraine, Somaliland, Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Lebanon.

(more…)

Continue Reading The AMAR Foundation: Remedies to Religious Persecution, Lessons in Peacebuilding