Inter-Faith Peace Summit in Africa
14-19 October 2002, Johannesburg, South Africa

"EMBRACING THE GIFT OF PEACE"

The Johannesburg Inter-Faith Peace Declaration
Adopted by consensus, this day, 17 October 2002,
at Benoni, near Johannesburg, South Africa

A. Preamble

We, representatives from the African Traditional Religion, the Baha'i Faith, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism, from different parts of Africa, and gathered in Benoni, near Johannesburg from 14-19 October 2002, hereby commit ourselves to embracing the gift of peace and to genuine inter-faith dialogue and cooperation for peace in Africa. We make this commitment inspired by the teachings and/or the norms of our respective religions, and by the United Nations International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010), but especially because our religious traditions urge us to do so. We believe that peace is possible in Africa.

Africa is a continent of faith. Religious beliefs and values are a central feature of the daily lives of African people, families and communities. African traditional beliefs, values and practices have a powerful impact upon our patterns of life and social interaction, as do the beliefs, values and practices of the many religions that have flourished on African soil.

Africa is also a continent of hope, courage and determination. The struggle of the African people for liberation and independence, for example, in the fight against apartheid in South Africa, shows that Africans can turn their continent round for the better.

We commend the efforts of the Lutheran World Federation in convening this Summit, and the efforts of those who contributed in different ways to make the Summit a success. We pray that the fruit of this effort will be lasting peace and understanding in Africa.

B. Acknowledgment

We acknowledge that Africa has for long been a continent of conflict and violence. The violence of slavery and colonialism compounded the violence of our pre-colonial past. Indeed the cycle of violence makes Africa a continent with many unhealed memories and feelings, including those inflicted by conflicts between the many nations and even the religious communities that we represent. In the last decade, conflict has continued to cause intolerable human suffering and to undermine prospects of a better future in many countries and the continent as a whole.

We acknowledge the work of inter-faith groups in different parts of the continent which are engaged in dialogue and peace making at the grassroots as well as national level. Some of these groups and some religious leaders have taken great risks in order to bring understanding and peace in their localities and countries. The obstacles they have encountered and the success they have achieved cannot go unrecognized. We pray that these efforts to make peace in Africa may be blessed and continue to flourish, and that others may join, so that together we can move Africa on the path of peace and development.

But we also acknowledge that religious leaders and communities have at times failed to promote peace. Some of us have sometimes been intolerant of each other's beliefs and allowed ourselves and our religious traditions to be manipulated for purposes that do not reflect our true beliefs. We have sometimes been arrogant in our behaviour towards each other. We have sometimes failed to speak and act against division, injustice, degradation of human dignity, corruption, poverty, disregard for rule of law, and dictatorial leadership which are causes of violence and untold suffering in our continent. Consequently we have not fulfilled the aspiration to peace that our different traditions share.

We further acknowledge that despite our common aspiration to peace, we often seem to ignore, or not to understand, what peaceful co-existence entails. Religious diversity and differences have sometimes been a point of conflict and violence, and at times manipulated to give a deeper motivation to political and ethnic conflicts, and to pursue personal and selfish ambitions.



C. Commitments

We have listened to one another at this Summit, and to the painful stories of people who have suffered violence, their terrible and moving experiences and their fresh wounds, and who despite their suffering, are willing to forgive. We have heard the stories of people of faith engaged in fostering repentance, forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace at the grassroots; we have heard the deep yearning for peace and recognized the need for peaceful co-existence in Africa, without which our children and future generations will continue to suffer; and, impelled by our faith principles, and seeking to draw on the best of our cultural traditions:

We declare that we commit ourselves to:

	Working for the protection of human life and the environment in Africa. We will work to bring about peace, and to forestall violent conflict, through genuine inter-faith dialogue and intervention in different segments of the African continent.
	Embracing the vision of an "African renaissance," a new spirit for unity and development in Africa.
	Working for Inter-Religious Understanding, through:
		A continuous process of genuine inter-faith encounter, discussion, and consultation, in order to promote respect for each other's religious traditions, and refrain from denigrating them; Teaching our fellow believers to respect, and to be tolerant, of the beliefs and traditions of others, in order to build mutual understanding and peaceful co-existence in our communities; Taking a stand against the exploitation of religious diversity that promotes violence; Fostering a culture of peace and care of the vulnerable, and supporting and strengthening existing inter-faith initiatives, as well as encouraging new ones, for peace in Africa; Inculcating the spirit of tolerance in our children and youth, including positive information about other religions in educational programmes, formal or informal, for which we are responsible, and to revising our existing educational textbooks and materials, to ensure that they do not contribute to religious intolerance and division; and Promoting the adoption and implementation of these commitments by other leaders of our respective faith traditions, and by others in our communities.
	Working Towards Peace and Conflict Resolution in Africa, through:
		Embracing the gift of peace that comes from all of our religious traditions and values, to working for peace as well as speaking of peace, to moving beyond common declarations to common actions, repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation, and to seeking to heal the terrible memories of violence and conflict that haunt our people; Supporting and strengthening the involvement of all people – men, women, youth and children – in peace building; Respecting, learning about, and utilizing the unique cultural practices that promote justice and healing in community disputes in Africa; and Equipping ourselves with the practical mediation skills necessary to resolve conflicts within and between our communities, and seeking to instill a spirituality that is needed for economic and social transformation and emancipation.
	Promoting Human Rights and Development of the African Continent, through:
		Promoting religious freedom in accordance with the teachings and/or the norms of our respective religions, and in accordance with the principles of international human rights law; Advocating for human rights, human dignity, and human responsibility, for all people and communities without distinction, and to promoting respect for the principles of international humanitarian law, as moral and ethical imperatives; and Utilizing our religious authority to insist that our political leaders take the path of peace rather than the path of war, and to hold them accountable for their promises and their actions by actively engaging all political leaders in dialogue with regard to positive initiatives and efforts towards conflict resolution, the promotion of peace and justice, and sustaining democratic institutions such as those envisioned in the creation of the African Union.

These commitments are based upon the religious traditions from which we come. They are solemn commitments to help us implement the Johannesburg Plan of Action. We intend to fulfill them. We pray that our hearts, our minds, and our bodies will be strengthened for this task, and that our work will be blessed with success. We pray that those who follow us, our children and our communities, will learn and benefit from these humble efforts of ours to eliminate the culture of violence, hatred and prejudice from our societies and to embrace the gift of peace for all in our continent.

JOHANNESBURG PLAN OF ACTION
(Adopted by consensus on 19 October 2002)

Inspired by our respective faith traditions, and the encounters we have had with each other during the Inter-Faith Peace Summit in Africa (14-19 October 2002, Benoni near Johannesburg, South Africa), proceeding from the Johannesburg Inter-Faith Peace Declaration adopted on 17 October 2002, and in order to fulfil the commitments set out therein, we undertake the following plan of action:

Summit Secretariat

The Summit secretariat (The Lutheran World Federation, Geneva) shall:

distribute the list of participants' names and addresses to all participants, in order to facilitate ongoing communication; forward a copy of the Johannesburg Inter-Faith Peace Declaration, and this Plan of Action, to the African Union (AU), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Inter-Governmental Agency for Development (IGAD), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC), etc., to all African Governments, to relevant faith-based organizations, as well as to all participants; and write forthwith on behalf of the Summit participants to the parties, mediators and other relevant actors in the current peace negotiations in respect of the situations in Sudan and Cote d'Ivoire, in order to express our prayers and support for the success of these negotiations.

Continuation Committee

	A Continuation Committee will be established, with the assistance of the Summit secretariat, as a focal point for the follow-up to the Summit. The Continuation Committee shall consist of one representative from each of the inter-faith networks/groups represented at the Summit.
	The Continuation Committee shall:
	have the mandate to formulate and deliver appropriate statements, letters and other interventions in respect of cases of conflict in Africa, on behalf of the Summit participants. In the immediate post-Summit period, the Continuation Committee should pay particular attention to the situations in Sudan, Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda and the DRC, and to consider the possibility, appropriateness and purpose of dispatching delegations to visit the countries concerned; in consultation and cooperation with participating inter-faith networks/groups, facilitate a series of exchange visits between different inter-faith networks/groups in Africa; in consultation and cooperation with participating inter-faith networks/groups, promote communication and/or exchange visits between organized groups of people affected by conflict (e.g. former child soldiers, women, landmine survivors, refugees, etc.); in consultation and cooperation with participating inter-faith networks/groups, promote the establishment of an ‘inter-faith peace fund' for voluntary contributions to support inter-faith peace efforts in Africa, including those described in this Plan of Action; explore the feasibility of establishing a web site (and e-mail network) for the purpose of better sharing of inter-faith initiatives for peace in Africa, and/or identify and publicize existing relevant and useful web sites; and convene a second Inter-Faith Peace Summit in Africa in 2004-2005, with expanded participation.

Participating Networks/Groups and Individuals

	Participating national inter-faith networks/groups shall:
	consider adopting the Declaration of this Summit, and publicize and promote the Summit, its outcome and follow-up in their communities, countries and sub-regions; strive, where appropriate, for more inclusive membership, including other faith traditions represented in the country, women and youth; establish closer working cooperation between inter-faith networks/groups at a national level, where more than one such network/group exists in each country; establish liaison on issues related to conflict resolution and peace promotion with: their national governments; the African Union and relevant regional bodies (such as SADC, ECOWAS, IGAD, COMESA, EAC, etc.); relevant NGOs and institutions, both within and outside Africa, which are involved in peace making and conflict resolution efforts.
	Participants from countries where inter-faith networks/groups do not exist, shall consider establishing such a network/group as appropriate.
	The participating inter-faith groups/networks and individuals, in consultation with the Continuation Committee, shall:
	convene sub-regional Inter-Faith Peace Summits in each of the (AU) regions of Africa during 2003-2004; organize capacity-building workshops in each of the sub-regions (either in conjunction with the sub-regional summits or separately) on the topics of: conflict resolution and mediation techniques, including African traditional methods; education for a culture of peace, including human rights and freedom of religion; healing and reconciliation praxis in post-conflict societies; advocacy skills; promote understanding, tolerance and respect for each others' religions, in particular in the content of preaching and prayer, educational curricula and materials, training programmes – both formal and informal, books and other publications, media, etc.; and to identify and publicize existing available materials suitable for these purposes; and integrate in preaching and advocacy the following issues: deadly weapons; child soldiers; food aid; health (HIV/AIDS); gender equity; poverty- job creation, equity in resource sharing; budget priorities (e.g. military spending vs. development); New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD); democracy and good governance; human rights and responsibilities, and human dignity; environmental degradation and sustainable development; tolerance.

Financing

The participating networks/groups and individuals shall to the maximum possible extent be themselves responsible for the fundraising and financing of the above activities. The Continuation Committee shall help facilitate and coordinate such fundraising and financing, in particular in relation to the proposed 'inter-faith peace fund'.