BWA General Council Resolution2016.2

The Baptist World Alliance General Council, meeting in Vancouver, Canada, July 6-8, 2016:

RENEWS its concern about the continuing humanitarian crisis in Nigeria previously addressed by a BWA resolution in 2012;

LAMENTS the deteriorating situation in Nigeria and the Lake Chad region that has been called “the world’s most neglected humanitarian crisis;”

UNDERSTANDS that the violence, murder, and kidnapping has directly impacted more than 14 million people with between three and five million being internally displaced, resulting in rampant malnutrition, leaving thousands of persons on the verge of starvation;

RECOGNIZES that people of faith and houses of worship have been intentionally targeted, including the damage or destruction of thousands of churches and numerous mosques; the devastation of primarily Christian Local Government Areas by Fulani militants in the Middle Belt; the deliberate efforts of Boko Haram to kill and displace those who do not adhere to their particular ideology; as well as vigilante groups who engage in reprisal attacks;

APPRECIATES that President Buhari of Nigeria and his administration have significantly worked to address these complex realities;

STANDS at this critical juncture with the Nigerian Baptist Convention, other Christian believers and people of goodwill across the region and especially all those who are suffering;

CALLS upon the United Nations to designate Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region as a “most severe large scale humanitarian crisis” (Level 3); and

URGES all Baptists to stand in solidarity with Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region, to pray for the development of transformative peace throughout the country and region, and to actively work to build a context of justice, human rights, rule of law, and religious freedom for all people.

Keywords

BWA; Human Rights; Nigeria; Religious Freedom; Religious Intolerance; United Nations; Violence.

Citations

Original Source Bibliography: Callam, Neville, editor. Baptist World Alliance 2016 Yearbook: Minutes of the General Council Meeting and Directory. Falls Church, VA: Baptist World Alliance, 2016.

Original Source Footnote/Endnote: Neville Callam, ed., Baptist World Alliance 2016 Yearbook: Minutes of the General Council Meeting and Directory (Falls Church, VA: Baptist World Alliance, 2016), p. 141.

Online Document Full Citation: BWA General Council Resolution 2016.2 Resolution on Violations of Religious Freedom in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Region; https://baptistworld.org/resolutions.

In-text Online Document Citation: (BWA General Council Resolution 2016.2).