2011: Joint ecumenical actions in Asia

Priorities for joint ecumenical actions to ensure Asia’s peace and security

11.08.2011

Serious issues that threaten Asia’s peace and security have been recognized by an ecumenical consultation that was organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia. The event was held in Bangkok, Thailand from 2 to 6 August.

The ecumenical consultation with 35 participants from 20 Asian countries addressed the theme “Peace and Security in Asia: Ecumenical Response”. It analyzed the emerging geopolitical trends and peace and security concerns.

The group concluded that, although many Asian countries claim to be democracies, the paradox is that their images are defiled by frequent cases of illegal detention, torture, custodial deaths, extrajudicial execution and forced disappearances. The common people, particularly minorities and the underprivileged, are made to endure many forms of inhuman and degrading treatment at the hands of armed personnel.

Peace and security concerns set the context for the current interplay of geopolitical trends, especially in regard to the dominant US presence in the socio-economic and political affairs of Asia, and in the emerging strategic competition between China and the United States as well as, to a lesser extent, between India and China. Other concerns identified were the contesting of boundaries and challenging of sovereignty in the quest for natural resources, the persistence of protracted internal conflicts based on social and ethnic or religious conflicts, and gross human rights violations and lack of democratic governance.

Weiterlesen: 2011: Joint ecumenical actions in Asia