IMBISA Justice and Peace Coordinators Resolve to “vigorously” Pursue Ecumenical, Interfaith Strategic Partnerships

“The Church commits to working with all living forces committed to lasting peace in our communities,” IMBISA Justice and Peace officials say in their emphasis of the need for partnerships. 

They continue, “Deliberate efforts should be made to realize collaborations with regional bodies like the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) (consummation of the Memorandum of Understanding) as well as continental bodies like the African Union at the SECAM level and election observation in the region.”

IMBISA Justice and Peace Coordinators note that “strategic plans sharing is one low-hanging fruit, as peace needs to be pursued from the political, social, and economic fronts.”

In the statement following their April 8-11 workshop, the Coordinators of Justice Peace Commissions in IMBISA caution against relegating young people “to the periphery of important discussions.  

Youths in the nine countries of IMBISA, they say, “are ends in themselves, befitting of respect through involvement in a true synodal sense.” They emphasize the need to engage young people in “genuine and sincere dialogue.”

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“Older people who, through their experience can point to or give directions should always consult the young people who certainly are set to inherit the world after them,” IMBISA Justice and Peace Coordinators say and go on to recognize youths as “an integral part of the Body of Christ.”

In their deliberations during the workshop, they weighed in on the challenge of “mining and extractive industries”, which they say “is pervasive in IMBISA countries.”

According to IMBISA Justice and Peace Coordinators, “The wise move by the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) of a class action lawsuit against mining firms needs to be a learning point for other conferences.” 

“The exploitative nature of Multi-National Corporations (MNCs) in general need coordinated and strong advocacy at policy and community levels, if modern day slavery is to be a thing of the past,” they say.

The Justice and Peace Coordinators in IMBISA express the need to “urgently” pursue “improved documentation, robust monitoring, evaluation, and learning; sharing of best practices; and inward-looking resource mobilization strategies within justice and peace commissions in IMBISA.

In the April 10 statement that IMBISA Communications published, officials of the Justice and Peace Commissions recognize the ongoing Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year as the context of not only the deliberations during their April 8-11 workshop but also initiatives towards sustainable and lasting peace in IMBISA.

“Guided by the hope in this Year of Jubilee, as pilgrims of hope, IMBISA places itself at the service of humankind in the quest for lasting peace,” the IMBISA Justice and Peace Coordinators say. 

During the yearlong Jubilee, which Pope Francis officially launched on the Eve of 2024 Christmas with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica of Rome, IMBISA Justice and Peace officials urge the people of God in the Southern African region to be prophetic as they communicate the Jubilee message of truth. 

“The Church is also being called to unite as one body in speaking truth to power, challenging the structures of sin in the building and consolidation of homegrown solutions in peace building and conflict resolution,” IMBISA Justice and Peace Coordinators say in their statement. 

They reiterate the need for peace in the IMBISA countries, saying, “St. Francis of Assisi’ Prayer of Peace is more urgent in our times.”

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“Justice and Peace commissions have to lobby and advocate for free, fair, and credible plebiscites and engage policy makers and state institutions to confront the culture of violence and death that pervades our communities,” IMBISA Justice and Peace Coordinators say in their April 10 statement.