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The
WCC called on Washington "to desist from any military threats
against Iraq", and to respect human rights and international
law
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GENEVA,
September 3 (News Agencies) - The World Council of Churches (WCC) has
expressed "concern and alarm" over U.S. threats to strike
Iraq in the name of overthrowing the present Iraqi government, and
called on the United States to cease military threats against Baghdad,
news agencies reported.
In
a statement released late Monday, September 2, the Geneva-based WCC
also urged U.S. allies "to resist pressures to join in
pre-emptive military strikes against a sovereign state under the
pretext of the 'war on terrorism'," Agence France-Presse (AFP)
reported.
The
statement said despite the "continued pain" in the U.S.
following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the GCC remains gravely
concerned about the negative consequences of the U.S. government's
campaign against terror groups.
The
WCC said the "most effective ways of combating terrorism are to
be found in building a more just world order in which the rights and
dignity of all human beings are upheld and affirmed".
It
called on Washington "to desist from any military threats against
Iraq", and to respect human rights and international law in its
campaign, AFP added.
The
WCC also urged Baghdad to comply with United Nations demands and to
destroy all (if any) weapons of mass destruction, as well as to
"guarantee full respect of the civil and political, economic,
social and cultural human rights for all its citizens".
The
WCC is made up of 342 churches in more than 100 countries across the
world representing most Christian traditions except the Roman Catholic
Church.
