BWA General Council Resolution 2013.10

The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Ocha Rios, Jamaica, July 1-6, 2013:

ACKNOWLEDGES that impact of the “Arab Spring” in the Middle East and North Africa has led to an increase in the persecution of minorities, including Christians;

NOTES that radical police and military actions have gone unpunished by governments of several Middle Eastern Countries;

LAMENTS that Christians have been targeted and persecuted in contexts where they have been perceived to be loyal to specific regimes in several countries;

REGRETS that attacks by Islamic extremists have victimized men, women and children in more than one location;

RECOGNIZES that Lebanon and other countries in the region are having an influx of refugees from Iraq and Syria;

RECOMMENDS Christian ministry to all refugees and pledges to pray for Lebanese Baptists and other Christians in the region who are ministering to refugees in the name of Jesus Christ;

URGES governments of the Middle East to engage religious minority groups located within their borders in the process of pursuing measures to protect them against actions that target Christians and other minorities;

ENCOURAGES Baptists to pray for the safety and well-being of our brothers and sisters in the faith;

URGES the United Nations and national governments to work cooperatively to assist those countries in the protection of all the rights of all their citizens;

CALLS UPON governments to refrain from sending or selling armaments to the forces in conflict in Syria and instead support the efforts of those who are working toward a negotiated peace and provide essential humanitarian resources to assist refugees in this situation of conflict; and

COMMENDS and supports the efforts of moderate religious people everywhere who advocate for the just treatment of all citizens throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

Citations

BWA General Council Resolution 2013.11 Kachin Crisis

Original Source Bibliography: Callam, Neville, editor. Baptist World Alliance 2013 Yearbook: Minutes of the General Council Meeting and Directory. Falls Church, VA: Baptist World Alliance, 2013.

Original Source Footnote/Endnote: Neville Callam, ed., Baptist World Alliance 2013 Yearbook: Minutes of the General Council Meeting and Directory (Falls Church, VA: Baptist World Alliance, 2013), pp. 145- 146.

Online Document Full Citation: BWA General Council Resolution 2013.11 Kachin Crisis; https://baptistworld.org/resolutions.

In-text Online Document Citation: (BWA General Council Resolution 2013.11).