Church leaders appeal to Blair's Africa Commission

-7/10/04

As Tony Blairís Africa Commission prepares to meet in Ethiopia this week, church leaders running development programmes in 18 African countries are appealing to the Commission for tougher action on a range of issues, from corruption, to the sale of arms in conflict zones, and the need to invest in disaster prevention in vulnerable countries.

A declaration to the Africa Commission from church leaders involved in relief and development across Africa, also urges action on the ëimmoral double standardsí in the world trade system that ëtrap the poorí, and for a greater voice for ordinary Africans as they seek to hold their governments to account.

The church leaders behind the declaration are part of a new alliance known as the Micah Network, 150 church development agencies spanning 72 countries. Next week in New York the Micah Network will be part of the launch of a campaign to encourage millions of churchgoers around the world to press their governments to achieve the halving of poverty by 2015, as promised in the Millennium Development Goals (Ref 1).

ìWe recognise that Africaís destiny lies in African hands,î says the declaration which has been presented to the Africa Commission ahead of its meeting in Addis Ababa this week. ìNevertheless we recognise that African problems are global problems and that action by other continents is necessary.î

Among 26 recommendations for international action to the Africa Commission from the Micah Network are calls for:

A ëbribery indexí of western countries caught offering bribes to African governments.

Urgent discussions about land tenure reforms to benefit poor people.

Incentives for companies to develop technologies to benefit for Africans.

Special action in response to the disproportionate number of ëwomen enslaved in povertyí.

One of the leaders of the Micah Network, Zemedkun Baykeda, head of relief and development at Meserete Kristos' Church, Ethiopia, said he hoped the Commission would fulfil African aspirations for the future by listening to Africans. And he declared that the Church in Africa - ëthe most effective structure for reaching poor communitiesí - had a significant role to play in working with governments, the African Union, and NEPAD (New Partnership for Africaís Development).

Explaining the motivation behind the formation of the Micah Network, the declaration asserts, ìChristians everywhere are called to be agents of hope for and with the poor and to work with others to hold national and global leaders accountable to securing a more just and merciful world.î