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Nigeria: Church Meeting, 2
Nigeria: Church Meeting, 2
Date distributed (ymd): 970102
Document reposted by WOA
WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
REPORT OF THE INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY MEETING ON
NIGERIA
20-24 November 1996
For more information, contact Dr. Deborah Robinson, World
Council of Churches, Unit III, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2,
Switzerland; tel: +41-22-791-6111; fax: +41-22-791-0361;
e-mail: drd@wcc-coe.org.
(continued from part 1)
RECOMMENDATIONS
At the outset of the deliberations, we reflected on the
centrality of the church's role in achieving transformation
in Nigeria. In a nation where many people are Christians,
the church touches millions and is well placed to facilitate
the quest for a new society. Indeed, the Church in Nigeria
has the responsibility of bringing hope to a suffering
people.
In addition, participants noted that the repression of the
Ogoni people has been used by the Nigerian government to
intimidate others struggling for justice. This terror needs
to be countered by giving the Ogoni crisis special focus.
The Ogoni struggle is a non-violent people's movement
against powerful forces of repression, marginalization, and
injustice.
Accordingly, the participants in the WCC International
Strategy Meeting on Nigeria make recommendations for action
to the following bodies:
Nigerian Churches and Church
Institutions
- The Christian Council of Nigeria (CCN) and the Christian
Association of Nigeria (CAN) and other church groups are
urged to support the Ogoni Council of Churches to strengthen
its ministry.
- CAN/CCN is urged to make a public statement calling for
the release of the Ogoni 19 and to use all available means
to advance the cause of the Ogoni people.
- The CCN is encouraged to revive its activities in the
field of peace, justice, and development and to work with
existing human rights training and civic education programs,
including those initiated by the Catholic Church.
- CCN/CAN and other Christian groups are encouraged to
convene a workshop in Nigeria on the Church's role in
societies in crisis, drawing upon the experience of the
South Africa Council of Churches (SACC), the Institute of
Contextual Theology, and the World Council of Churches'
Urban Rural Mission, among others.
- Seminaries and theological colleges in Nigeria are
encouraged to develop joint social justice/ethics curricula,
with the assistance, if appropriate, of international
ecumenical bodies.
The World Council of Churches
6. The WCC is asked to urge all member churches, regional
ecumenical organizations, and national councils of churches
to exert pressure upon the government of Nigeria:
7. a. to release the Ogoni 19 and all political detainees
including Moshood K.O. Abiola, Olusegun Obasanjo, Shehu
Yar'adua, and Frank Kokori;
b. to withdraw all troops from Ogoniland and to disband
the Rivers State Internal Security Task Force;
c. to guarantee basic human rights and the rule of law in
Nigeria;
d. to abandon the illegitimate transition program and
ensure a speedy return to civilian democratic rule,
unhindered by the military; and
e. to release the bodies of the Ogoni 9 for proper burial
and pay compensation to the families of the Ogoni 9 as
recommended by the United Nations fact-finding mission.
8. The WCC is asked to urge all member churches, regional
ecumenical organizations, and national councils of churches
to divest their shares in Shell. This is a practical
demonstration of solidarity with the Nigerian people as well
as an option consistent with Christian ethics.
9. The WCC is asked to establish a Fund, supported by member
churches and partners, for the defense and aid for all
political detainees in Nigeria and their families.
10. The WCC is asked to include Nigerian church leaders and
representatives from civil society in their delegations to
the UN Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission for
the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of
Minorities. Materials for dissemination in these bodies
should be prepared, the delegations should make appropriate
interventions during these session, and briefings during the
meetings should be organized. Members of the delegation to
the UN Commission on Human Rights should be supported to
participate in training programmes on human rights.
11. The Executive Committee of the WCC, at its next meeting
(February 1997), is urged:
- to view this programme of action on Nigeria as being an
integral part of the WCC's Africa Programme;
- to make a commitment to support the people, churches,
and movements in Nigeria; and
- to issue a statement on the human rights situation in
Nigeria, in general, and the crisis in Ogoniland, in
particular.
- The WCC is asked to ensure:
- that the work on Nigeria is taken up by all relevant
Units of the WCC;
- that Unit IV of the WCC issues a special appeal to
raise the funds necessary to provide adequate financial
support to partners in Nigeria to enable them to
implement the recommendations which pertain to them;
and
- that a specific individual is appointed to monitor and
facilitate the implementation of these recommendations.
WCC Member Churches and Partner
Agencies
13. WCC member churches and ecumenical bodies are urged to
convene meetings and develop specific strategies for
national action. This is particularly important in countries
with special relationships to Nigeria such as Canada,
France, Germany, Ghana, the Netherlands, Norway, South
Africa, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the USA. The aim of such
campaigns should be to mobilize public opinion and
government policy in support of Nigerian demands for
democracy, human rights, and environmental protection. Such
meetings should include key representatives of relevant
church structures, resource people from organizations
dealing with the crisis in Nigeria, and representatives of
Nigerian groups confronting issues of repression, human
rights, and social justice within the country. Member
churches and partner agencies are strongly encouraged to
provide resources to facilitate the building of these
national advocacy campaigns.
14. As a part of these efforts, WCC member churches are
asked to join with civil society organizations to plan
specific campaigns focused on Shell. These should include
calls for sanctions on Nigerian oil and divestment from
Shell, as well as boycotts, legislative advocacy,
demonstrations, etc. One of the key objectives of these
campaigns should be to compel Shell to meet the demands of
the people of the Niger Delta and to enter into dialogue
with their legitimate representatives. To create the
conditions necessary for this:
- Shell must use its influence with the Nigerian
government to obtain the release of the Ogoni 19;
- Shell must intervene to secure the withdrawal of the
Rivers State Internal Security Task Force;
- Shell must insist that the Nigerian government
guarantee freedom of movement and association in
Ogoniland; and
- Shell must cease its attempts to coerce the Ogoni
people to sign statements which invite Shell to return
to Ogoniland.
When possible, it is suggested that activities be carried
out in collaboration with groups affected by Shell
operations in other parts of the world.
15. Recognizing the urgency of increasing the flow of timely
information between Nigerian churches and human rights
organizations and their international partners, WCC member
churches and partner agencies are asked to provide
assistance in establishing an effective communications
network.
16. Relevant member churches of the WCC are encouraged to
intensify advocacy work with the Secretariat of the
Commonwealth and the European Union to ensure strict
enforcement of all sanctions on Nigeria (arms bans, visa
restrictions, sporting boycotts, etc.).
All Africa Conference of Churches
17. AACC is asked to distribute information on Nigeria to
its member churches. AACC's capacity towards that end needs
to be strengthened.
18. An AACC delegation is encouraged to visit the churches
and representatives of civil society in Nigeria with a view
to increasing the awareness of AACC member churches of the
crisis in the country.
19. Nigerian churches and representatives of organizations
both inside and outside Nigeria should be invited to attend
the AACC International Affairs Board meeting in February
1997 to brief members on the situation in Nigeria.
20. The AACC is requested to make an intervention on Nigeria
and include Nigerian church leaders and representatives from
civil society in their delegation to the African Commission
on Human and Peoples Rights.
21. The AACC is requested to organize parallel meetings of
NGOs during the June 1997 OAU meeting in Ethiopia in
conjunction with other human rights organizations.
Reporting and follow-up
22. The participants at the International Strategy Meeting
on Nigeria, as well as the church bodies who were
specifically named above, are requested to send a report to
the WCC by 1 April 1997 on the progress made in implementing
these recommendations.
23. A subsequent strategy planning meeting on Nigeria is
needed. This meeting should include an expanded number of
partners from Nigeria and the international community. It
should be held in conjunction with the NGO Forum that will
take place during the 1997 OAU Summit. Recommendations from
this meeting will be forwarded to the WCC Central Committee
meeting in September 1997 for further action.
This material is being reposted for wider distribution by
the Washington Office on Africa (WOA), a not-for-profit
church, trade union and civil rights group supported
organization that works with Congress on Africa-related
legislation. WOA's educational affiliate is the Africa Policy
Information Center (APIC).
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