, Research Paper
the devastation of aids in africa
A driving force behind the recent U.N. Resolution 1261 (1999) unanimously
adopted by the U.N. Security Council on August 25, is Olara Otunnu, Special
Representative of the Secretary General on Armed Conflict to the United
Nations. The resolutions which:
condemns the targeting of children in situations of armed conflict
including killing and maiming, sexual violence, abduction and forced
displacement, recruitment and use of children in armed conflict in
violation of international law and attacks on places that usually have a
significant presence of children such as schools and hospitals– and
calls on all parties concerned to put an end to such practices
was championed by Mr. Otunnu, a native of Uganda and past president of the
UN Security Council. Since the beginning of his three-year appointment in
1979, he has traveled extensively, sometimes venturing into war zones to
plea the cause of children. “I seek to be in touch with every organization and
group whose activity and actions have an impact on children and war,” he
said.
An issue which the Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church has
focused on for many years, “the targeting of children in warfare” was a topic
of discussion at Global Gathering II, a GBGM-sponsored event of United
Methodists. Attendees heard Gr
commissioned by the U.N. to produce the “United Nations Study on The
Impact of Armed Conflict on Children (1995), give an impassioned speech
on the plight of children in war situations. She expressed appreciation for
work the church has done and urged continued advocacy in this regard.
GBGM has proceeded accordingly and placed special emphasis on children
of Africa through the United Methodist Bishops’ Initiative of “Hope for the
Children of Africa”. An extension of this initiative is “Missioners of Hope”, a
new category of missionaries assigned by GBGM to work exclusively with
children in crisis throughout the continent.
Among components of the “missioners” program is the care and counseling
of children traumatized by war. An area of need singled out by Mr. Otunnu,
counseling, he said, is also needed for families of these children. Among
other specific needs he lifted were health care workers and and teachers for
the children. Vision of Global Ministries has already placed some 58
“Missioners of Hope” in these areas. The majority of the “missioners” are
native Africans, some of whom have lived through the very drama that the
children they are to serve are experiencing. This familiarity, along with
knowledge of language and culture, enables them to more readily serve
these children and bring renewed hope to their lives.