A consultation held 20-24 August called for churches to recognize and take a concrete stand against genocide. Jointly organized by the All Africa Conference of Churches, Council for World Mission, and World Communion of Reformed Churches, and locally hosted by the Council of Churches in Namibia in Windhoek, Namibia, the consultation sought to question what role the church and ecumenical partners have played, and can continue to play, in finding justice for the crucified peoples in post-genocide settings.
The consultation was intentionally held in Namibia, the location of the first genocide of the 20th century. Starting in 1904, the Herero and Nama people were ordered to be massacred by the German colonial power, and the struggle for acknowledgement and apology continues till today. The consultation was also essential in light of the ongoing genocide in Palestine.
Bringing together church and ecumenical leaders, traditional authorities, activists, engaged academics, and, most importantly those who have suffered the injustices of genocide, the consultation specifically sought to address the issue from the perspective of those who are being crucified. The intentionality of this approach from below allowed the gathering to name genocide as part of the mechanics of the necropolitics of empire.
In its communique, the consultation states, “The conference witnessed the resistance of the crucified, the impoverished, women, young people and children in their steadfast refusal to be erased and annihilated. Our statement arises from the cry of the earth’s people against the geopolitics of empire, the way empire continues to unleash a ‘necropolitics’ (i.e. a politics, practice and even celebration of death).”
The consultation drew strong connections between modern-day genocide and the legacy of colonialism. In his keynote address, Namibian scholar and activist Paul Isaak expressed, “From the perspective of the colonized, mission and colonialism was dominated by missionaries, traders, settlers and soldiers or what is known as the three Cs: Christianity, Commerce, and Civilization. These three Cs imposed upon Africans a particular way of being.”
Mark Lewis Taylor, a renowned theologian from Princeton Theological Seminary, further connected those who were murdered in genocides with the suffering and crucifixion of Christ. “Dying as Jesus did is what puts Christianity’s reputed founder in unity with the world’s peoples who suffer on the underside of the imperial systems, whether Roman or US-American.” It was with this theological insight in mind that the consultation referred to those who were slaughtered and brutalized in genocides as the “crucified.”
On genocide and women, Carmen Margarita Sanchez De Leon brought to the foreground the gendered dimensions of genocide. She pointed out that “Women’s bodies are inseparable from the memories of genocide and power structures in society. The biological nature of female or feminised bodies, including their capacity to gestate life, systematically makes women targets of sexualised violence in peacetime as well as during war and genocide.” She called for the consultation to recognize the role of women in genocides – that they are not only the victims/survivors but also leaders at the forefront of resistance and peace building initiatives.
Speaking of the consultation, Dr Sudipta Singh, Deputy General Secretary of the Council for World Mission, said, “The Council for World Mission, because of its belief in the resurrection of Christ, typified in its recent assembly’s theme ‘Rise to Life’ is committed to the overthrowing of all imperial projects and designs that are contrary to the gospel of life.”
Reflecting on “Can Theology Speak in the face of Genocide?” James Amanze called on churches to “aggressively, decidedly and deliberately the instruments of reconciliation and peace through its mission of evangelization in order to eradicate genocidal tendencies in society and bring into existence the kingdom of God.”
The communique further called on the All Africa Conference of Churches, Council for World Mission and World Communion of Reformed Churches to develop a “mechanism for accompanying churches and affected communities of the crucified during genocide and struggles for self-determination. This should include training and supporting a rapid response team and strengthening the pastoral, political, and advocacy actions of churches against genocide in solidarity with those crucified by Empire and its allies.”
Recognizing that the root of genocide was empire and neo-liberal capitalism, the consultation also called on the larger ecumenical community to “join forces with those who are pursuing alternatives to global capitalism and the furthering of the principles and goals of the NIFEA processes to dismantle the military-industrial complex.”
Click here to download the full statement.
