War on Iraq is simply wrong

Amman, Jordan, February 21: Following a team visit to Baghdad, Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the Alliance, issued the following statement opposing the war on Iraq that is being planned by the US administration and its close allies in the UK and elsewhere.

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches delegation has just returned from a pastoral visit to Iraq. We felt the pain of the people of Iraq, and saw the devastation caused by the wars they have been through and the sanctions still in place. Everything points to the senselessness and callousness of war at this time. The victims will be poor innocent civilians of Iraq and the region.

Daily and from every corner of the earth, the Alliance receives statements from its member churches expressing opposition to war on Iraq. Reformed churches including those in the United States of America and the United Kingdom are against it. Nor are we alone. Churches and Christians of every tradition stand together in their opposition to this war.

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches endorses and identifies with the united voice of international Christian opinion.

A war on Iraq would violate the UN Charter and international law. No nation has the right to attack another. A reference to pre-emptive self-defence by the US and the UK governments is without justification in international law, especially when there is little evidence of an intended strike from the target. With a UN Charter that is unambiguously committed to peaceful solutions, it is difficult to imagine the legality of a UN resolution which would allow any nation and its allies to attack Iraq.

War on Iraq is simply wrong. Christian faith and tradition lead the World Alliance of Reformed Churches to this conclusion.

The UN Security Council has resolved that Iraq shall rid itself of any weapons of mass destruction it may possess. The inspectors it has sent to Iraq for that purpose should be allowed to finish their work. Once mechanisms are in place for verifying the existence of weapons of mass destruction in a nation and destroying them, it is morally unjustifiable for other weapons of mass destruction from any other source to be unleashed upon that nation.

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches is in no way defending Saddam Hussein. The Alliance has a long tradition of standing for human rights, dating back to the genocide of Native Americans in the 19th century. While the purpose of our visit to Baghdad was not to evaluate the leadership of Saddam Hussein or his regime, we know from experience that he is a tyrant. His treatment of his own people is a gross violation of human rights, as was his war of aggression against Kuwait.

But the war urged by Mr Bush and Mr Blair will undoubtedly increase the suffering of the people of Iraq and violence in the world rather than achieve a desirable democratic outcome for the people of Iraq or increase world peace and security. Any war on Iraq will affect the lives of common people gravely. It will also increase violence and insecurity in the world.

The children, young people, women and men of Iraq have suffered enough, without being subjected to yet another devastation.

It is the responsibility of all people of faith to call the sacredness of life to the attention of political leaders who seem to be forgetting that life belongs to God and is sacred. In the Bible the vision to which people of faith are called to counter evil with good includes seeking peace and pursuing it (1 Peter 3.11). This is not a passive stance - it means actively doing everything possible to avoid war and to seek peace.

It is this calling for peace that leads the World Alliance of Reformed Churches to call on world leaders to refrain from the path of war, seek peace and pursue it. This same calling led the World Alliance to send a delegation to visit Iraq to express solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Iraq. We care for the children, young people, women and men of Iraq - Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths living in Iraq. Our faith calls us to love our neighbours as ourselves. The war that Mr Bush and Mr Blair are calling for is certainly not one of one religion against another. In solidarity with the people of Iraq, we pray that the war and its resultant sufferings will be averted.

Our appeal

• We appeal to our member churches, and to Christians everywhere, for continued prayer and protest. Pray for all people of Iraq, and for all leaders making decisions today to listen carefully to God's calling and the cries of the ordinary people of Iraq, and choose life rather than death.
• We appeal to the United Nations - especially the fifteen nations represented in the UN Security Council - to place the requirements of international law, the long-standing commitment of the United Nations to choose peaceful solutions, and the value for life above national self-interests.
• We appeal to the US and UK governments to turn away from the path of destruction and death.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."