Faith in Justice; from sentence to community
IPCA Europe Kyiv Conference
Tue 24th – Fri 27th April 2018
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed” Isaiah 1:17
Conference Declaration
Over the
last four days we, 60 Prison Chaplains from 16 European Countries, have enjoyed
the invitation, welcome, and hospitality of our brothers and sisters in the
Ukrainian Prison Chaplaincy services. We are thankful for the invitation to the
Ukraine and for the sense of family shared as we have met and learned from one
another.
As a
consequence of World War II, the United Nations was founded on three pillars:
there should not be more misery in the future; human rights should be in effect
for every human being; and there should be security for all Nations and every
individual. 73 years later, these pillars seem to be in danger. We see misery on
an international scale with economic and environmental disasters being daily
occurrences alongside war in nations such as Syria, Sudan, Yemen, and Ukraine.
Torture, wholly condemned by the UN, is known to be present in 30% of nations.
The
Ukraine is the biggest country within Europe, with a rich history. It is a key
region between East and West and as a result has suffered more than many other
are as in the past centuries. Empires have tried to dominate Ukraine, a country
still is in conflict as we meet here in 2018. However, the Ukraine also unifies
western and eastern traditions in its people, its culture, and its religions,
with an ongoing history of inter-religious welcome. Since independence in 1991
the people have continued to struggle as they develop their deep-rooted sense
of self. It has been encouraging to see at the conference that despite all
these troubles, Ukraine is continuing in its drive towards being a reforming
society, so excellently displayed in the participation of the conference
speakers as they discussed positive ways of developing a modern and effective
prison system within the Ministry of Justice. We have had the unique
opportunity get to know more about the Ukrainian prison reality through
presentations from representatives of the justice system, both academic and
practice focused.
It is
recognised that you can judge a society by how well that society treats its
prisoners. We recognize the efforts that many Eastern European countries have
made in the past decades to develop reforms of their penitentiary systems and
we are aware that these efforts often are made within difficult social,
economic, political and sometimes warlike circumstances. We pray that the tense
political situation in many countries of Eastern Europe does not lead to an
increase in exclusive, identity-based ideologies.
Our
faith also challenges our relationship with justice. Theological concepts of
justice and a country’s system of justice can often seem to be quite different.
Christian theology often relates concepts of justice to restoring peace,
derived from the Judaeo-Christian idea of “shalom”. Shalom includes meanings of
peace, but peace in a very extensive, profound, enclosing way. Shalom in the
Bible is peace in justice, peace in community, satisfying the basic needs of
all mankind, including the excluded. Our national justice systems need to
ensure people leaving prison can find integration and welcome in the community.
To see Shalom established, victims, offenders, children, the strangers, the
most vulnerable and even those whom we consider our enemies deserve a justice
that brings about renewed opportunities for life through the healing of the
damaged imago Dei in mankind. Justice cannot be frozen in time, but is a
movement, a searching for... For Justice!
As a
conference, we challenge the principle that imprisonment is a successful way to
solve all diverse social problems, other problem of crime in every society. We
wish to encourage more programs of reconciliation in communities that are
alternatives to prison instead of placing such a high emphasis on imprisonment.
As a
conference, we affirm the work being done by some governments in improving
prison regimes, respecting human rights and dignity. However, we also express
our dissatisfaction at conditions in prisons in many countries for men, women,
young people, and children, where physical and psychological abuse, including
slavery, still degrade human beings.
We wish
to name three developments that influence correctional systems and prison
ministry:
- More
than ever, increasing numbers of people are fleeing their home countries
because of war, terrorism, persecution, and poverty to enter the richer
countries of the world. We oppose any detention facilities for illegal
immigrants, as the European Court of Human Rights has already done.
- In an
increasing number of countries, people are also imprisoned because they refuse
to become soldiers. We affirm that the refusal of the duty to be trained as a
soldier is a human right and should not lead to imprisonment.
- We
call again for an immediate moratorium on executions and the abolition of the
death penalty.
Mandela
Rules
We
welcome the revision of the United Nations “Minimum Standard Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners”, developed with the support of NGOs with consultancy
status. We ask that these rules, now called “Mandela Rules” be applied in all
countries following their unanimous adoption in 2015 by all member states.
The
conference has emphasized in many ways the value of and need for high-quality
training for Prison Chaplains and asks that Governments, Churches and other
Faith Communities support such programs. We urge all chaplains to use the
support offered through IPCA and other networks for training and professional
development. We encourage the development of multi-faith and ecumenical
Chaplaincy Teams that are firmly rooted in their communities, both to support
and challenge.
We send
our prayerful greetings to our fellow Prison Chaplains throughout the world,
and in conclusion, we offer thanks to God for all the blessings of this
Conference. We pray that God will continue to guide and strengthen us in our
ministries in prison. There is hope, and even in the darkest moments there is
always a way forward as together we “learn to do right; seek justice. Defend
the oppressed” (Isa 1:17). We have faith in God’s justice.
IPCA Europe
International Prison Chaplains’ Association in Europe
www.ipcaeurope.org
ipcaeurope@gmail.com
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