Member Care and Human Rights--9

Human Rights and Religious Liberty

Proverbs 1:3 and Proverbs 24:11,12

We were really awed by the courage and commitment of several people whom we recently met in Central Asia. These were people whose religous liberties--protected supposedly by both their national constitutions and international laws--had been seriously violated. We listened carefully to each others' stories both formally through debriefing and informally through group discussions. We explored Christian Scripture in light of human rights issues and international law--especially the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Two foundational verses for the discussions were from the book of Proverbs.

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The purpose of the book of Proverbs:

1:3--To receive instruction in wise behaviour, righteousness, justice, and equity
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The responsibility to help vulnerable people:
24:11--Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to death, O hold them back.
24:12--If you say, "See, we did not know this," Does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?
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Russian:
1: 3--усвоить правила благоразумия, правосудия, суда и правоты;
24: 11--Спасай взятых на смерть, и неужели откажешься от обреченных на убиение?
24:12--Скажешь ли: `вот, мы не знали этого'? А Испытующий сердца разве не знает? Наблюдающий над душею твоею знает это, и воздаст человеку по делам его.

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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations, 1948) is a crucial guide for our lives and work. It is a foundational document for international laws/agreements for human rights. It unequivocally recognises the dignity and equal rights of all humans and the devastating consequences to people and societies when human rights are abused. We especially noted Articles 18,19, 20. See: www.unhchr.ch/udhr and www.ohchr.org

18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.
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Статья 18
Каждый человек имеет право на свободу мысли, совести и религии; это право включает свободу менять свою религию или убеждения и свободу исповедовать свою религию или убеждения как единолично, так и сообща с другими, публичным или частным порядком в учении, богослужении и выполнении религиозных и ритуальных обрядов.

Статья 19
Каждый человек имеет право на свободу убеждений и на свободное выражение их; это право включает свободу беспрепятственно придерживаться своих убеждений и свободу искать, получать и распространять информацию и идеи любыми средствами и независимо от государственных границ.

Статья 20
1. Каждый человек имеет право на свободу мирных собраний и ассоциаций.
2. Никто не может быть принуждаем вступать в какую-либо ассоциацию.

Reflection and Disucssion
Read the UDHR document two times in the next week.
Focus especially on the Preamble and Articles 18-20.
What are some ofthe key values, rights, and terms that you find?

Member Care and Human Rights--6

Human Rights Advocacy:

Member Care for The Persecuted Church

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.”
UDHR, Article 18

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Excerpts below from: “Human Rights Advocacy in Missions”
Doing Member Care Well (2002) by Wilfred Wong
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"I just returned from Sulawesi yesterday where I met with leaders who oversee about 2000 church-planters, pastors, and evangelists in the Maluku islands, Indonesia. They have lost about 100 workers in the last several months. Some were burnt alive and others cut to pieces. One evangelist had his head cut off and placed in a public place...One pastor lost his children and grand children. Another pastor was forcibly circumcised along with his children, including his five-year year old girl. I am just so overwhelmed with pain in my heart. As I sat with them I couldn't bear to listen. But even more painful, is what one pastor asked me: "Why doesn't anyone care for us?" (Report from Beram Kumar, Member Care Network-Malaysia; February, 2001)
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To engage in human rights advocacy is basically to raise concerns about human rights violations and to call on the responsible government to rectify this injustice. It also involves getting Parliamentarians, governments and members of the public in other countries to put pressure on the responsible government to end the human rights violations. Human rights advocacy can be done at different levels, ranging from very public and strong pressure to quiet negotiations to persuade a government to stop the human rights abuses. Some examples of human rights advocacy organizations are Jubilee Campaign, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and Amnesty International.
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One reason why there is persecution in so many different countries today is because the church is expanding its frontiers throughout the world. More than at any other time in the history of Christianity we can truly regard the Church as a global community. It is because the Church is growing in places traditionally hostile to the Gospel that in many of these locations the backlash of persecution occurs. Governments or religious extremists feel threatened by the spread of Christianity and try all sorts of methods to stop its growth, ranging from murder and genocide as in Sudan to more subtle measures such as the introduction of restrictive laws on church registration, which is common in a number of Central Asian countries.
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As Christians, I believe we must show solidarity with other believers who are facing persecution. Failing to do what we can to try and help them in their time of need is akin to failure to help the wounded stranger on the road. I desire to behave like the Good Samaritan rather than the "religious" people who simply walked by and ignored the stranger's—their neighbor’s-- plight. If in God's eyes we owe a fraternal duty of care to strangers who do not even share our faith, we owe an even stronger duty to fellow members of the Body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:25 to 27 reads: "so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."
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Human rights advocacy is not just about human rights but is also a key form of mission support. It involves speaking out against injustices and trying to have such situations rectified. We believe in a God of Justice (Isaiah 30:18) whose prophets, like Amos, uncompromisingly called for justice (Amos 5:24). It thus amazes me when Christians think that closing one's eyes to injustice is somehow the more "spiritual" thing to do. Human rights advocacy is not about seeking political power, it is about seeking justice. It should not be considered as any more political than the prophetic utterances of Amos, Elijah, Isaiah, or any of the other prophets of the Bible.
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Mission workers have a key role to play in human rights advocacy by carefully and accurately communicating relevant information about anti-Christian persecution and discrimination to the outside world. Groups like Jubilee Campaign will do the overt advocacy work, communicating with Parliamentarians and Governments. The mission worker must usually stay in the background, quietly supplying information about religious persecution or discrimination to human rights advocacy groups, so as not to jeopardise his/her own safety or permission to stay in the country. There is no need for mission workers to take on an overt advocacy role, their main and very crucial contribution to the process of securing justice is to supply the relevant information.
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Reflection and Discussion
**1. A follower of Christ is imprisoned for his faith and held without any contact with outsiders. His wife wants human rights advocacy on his behalf but his local church leader is opposed to it because he's very frightened of any actions that may potentially cause problems for his church. Whose view should have priority in deciding whether to authorize human rights advocacy?
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**2. In general, what do you think God expects Christians who are not facing persecution to do for those who are facing persecution?
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**3. Imagine you are working in a country where Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not honoured (freedom of religion/conscience and freedom to change one’s religion). Anti-Christian persecution by certain people in the government has not yet started but with the growing number of citizens who are freely choosing to become followers of Christ, it's likely to happen in the near future. What sort of preparations for such persecution can you, other colleagues, and the local believers make now, in advance?