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News Release
WOMEN FROM SUDAN, PALESTINE, AND COLOMBIA TO DELIVER
URGENT MESSAGE TO CANADIAN GOVERNMENT:
SUPPORT COMMUNITY BASED PEACE INITIATIVES
November 25, 2004
(Toronto, ON) – In an effort to urge Canadians and the federal
government to support community-based peace building initiatives
in war-torn areas of the world, three extraordinary women from Sudan,
Palestine, and Colombia will come to Toronto on November 29 to expose
the disturbing reality of war in their respective regions. On
that day, they will participate in a briefing from 10 a.m. until
12noon at KAIROS (Deer Park United Church, 129 St. Clair Avenue
West, 2nd Floor) and a public event later on at 7 p.m. in the Native
Canadian Centre (16 Spadina Road). Their visit is part of a
remarkable nationwide tour, organized by KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical
Justice Initiatives, to raise awareness of the devastating effects
of conflict on human rights, with a particular emphasis on the alarming
impact war has on women.
These women – Elizabeth Majok of Sudan, Amneh Badran of Palestine,
and Ana Teresa Rueda Lozada of Colombia -- have worked tirelessly
on peace building initiatives in their own communities. They will
come to Canada as partners of KAIROS, which encourages the participation
of women at all levels of the peace building process. Each partner
will share her story to set the stage for an important call on the
Canadian government to increase the involvement of civil society
groups in peacebuilding efforts; to strengthen its voice in relationships
with other governments and multilateral organizations, like the
UN, in protesting human rights violations and the impact of conflict
on women; and to ensure that women are full participants in all
peace building efforts, including involvement in decision making
at all levels.
Included in their appeals to the government are issues specific
to each region:
Sudan
Elizabeth Majok of the New Sudan Council of Churches will push for
demonstrated leadership from the Canadian government in pressuring
the government of Sudan and other parties involved to resolve the
conflict in her country, insisting that any peace agreement affirm
the principles of a just and lasting peace and address the root
causes of the different conflicts in Sudan. She will urge Canada
to demand responsive and accountable governance, a meaningful constitutional
process, involvement of civil society, credible monitoring and guaranteeing
mechanisms on the part of the international community. After her
stop in Toronto, Elizabeth will travel to North Bay, Sudbury, and
Sault Ste. Marie.
Palestine
Amneh Badran is Executive Director of the Jerusalem Centre for Women
(JCW) and a leader in Jerusalem Link, a cross-cultural peace initiative
between Arab and Jewish women that is jointly sponsored by the JCW
and Bat Shalom, a Jewish women’s organization (both JCW and
Bat Shalom are partners of KAIROS). She will call on the Canadian
government to demand an end of the Israeli Occupation of the West
Bank and Gaza (in keeping with UN Security resolutions 242 and 338),
voice opposition to the Jewish settlements in the Occupied Palestinian
Territories, oppose Israel’s construction of the wall in the
West Bank, and increase its support of civil society organizations
that work to create a democratic Palestinian society and state alongside
Israel, particularly those who engage in cross-cultural dialogue.
In addition to her visit to Toronto, Amneh will travel to St. John’s,
Halifax, Moncton, Burnt Church and Charlottetown.
Colombia
Ana Teresa Rueda Lozada of the Organización Feminina Popular
will make a plea to the Canadian government to publicly protest
the continuous human rights violations in Colombia, the lack of
adherence to UN recommendations – in particular the increase
of human rights violations in women, violence against women, and
targeted attacks against women. She will also build a strong case
for the Canadian government take a lead role in ensuring the implementation
and compliance of these recommendations made by the UN. Following
her appearance in Toronto, Ana Teresa will visit Vancouver Island,
Vancouver, Kelowna, and Winnipeg.
After traveling through Canada, Elizabeth Majok, Amneh Badran,
and Ana Teresa Rueda Lozada will reconvene in Ottawa on December
6th and 7th to meet with federal government officials.
– 30 –
To attend the briefing or to schedule interviews, or for more information,
please contact:
Jennifer Henry, KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
(416) 463-5312, ext. 236
KAIROS brings together eleven national churches
and religious organizations in an ecumenical
organization dedicated to social justice in Canada and around the
world.
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