PEACE AND JUSTICE FOR THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

The Conference executive passed a resolution presented at the 79th annual meeting of Toronto Conference calling us to:
•acknowledge that the practices of colonization and globalization have contributed to the current civil unrest, debt, genocide of tribal peoples, and the lack of stability, peace or justice in the African continent
•urge the Government of Canada to use all possible diplomatic efforts to support sending a U.N. Peacekeeping Force to the Democratic Republic of Congo
•urge the Government of Canada to monitor the practices of Canadian companies involved in resource extraction in the Democratic Republic of Congo to ensure operational practices that further peace and respect for local communities
•urge all members of the United Church within the boundaries of Toronto Conference to write to the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs to support Congolese peace negotiations to ensure a lasting peace with justice.

DID YOU KNOW:
•3.3 million Congolese have died since 1998, according to the estimates of the International Rescue Committee in April 2003;
•illegal occupation of Congolese territory by neighbouring countries has taken place since 1998 (especially Uganda and Rwanda);
•illegal extraction of the DR Congo’s natural resources by occupying countries;
•large-scale human rights violations committed by all the parties to the conflict including massacres of civilians, the use of rape as a weapon of war, and cannibalism as a means of sowing terror.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
•Educate yourself about the root causes of the current armed conflict in the Bunia region of DR Congo (Africa Files www.africafiles.org/central.asp, United Church www.united-church.ca, Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org). 
•Link learnings from the To Seek Justice and Resist Evil: Towards an Economy for All God’s People to the conflict.
•Focus on the Decade to Overcome Violence: Churches Seeking Reconciliation and Peace (www.torontoconference.ca and www.wcc-coe.org).
•Write your MP, the Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs to call for more intervention by the UN, provide protection to civilians, support the peace process and address peacekeeping needs, and call for corporate responsibility by Canadian companies involved in resource extraction in DR Congo (see the United Church website for a sample letter www.united-church.ca).