Overture 56

On Support for Congolese People in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—From the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia.

The Presbytery of Eastern Virginia respectfully overtures the 217th General Assembly (2006) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to do the following:

1. Address in prayer and in action the human suffering and injustices inflicted upon the Congolese people, of whom our Presbyterian brothers and sisters numbering approximately two million are an integral part.

2. At the request of our Congolese brothers and sisters and their friends around the world, let it be resolved that the PC(USA) advocate with the U.S. government:

a. That a bipartisan U.S. Congressional delegation visit the Congo to assess firsthand ways and means to promote and carry out a free, fair, and democratic election in 2006.

b. That the resources of the U.S. government be utilized in implementing a free, fair, and democratic election in the Congo, including financial support now needed to make appropriate preparations for, and to carry out the election process.

c. That responsible channels be found for directing the use of this money for its intended purposes.

d. That the resources of the U.S. government be utilized for continued and increased support to the U.N. in order to bring under control remaining armed conflicts that divide people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

e. That the U.S. government strongly support efforts to bring unity to the Congo as provided by the Global and Inclusive Accord.

f. That after the election of a fairly elected democratic government, foreign debt be forgiven for the new government of the DRC.

g. That the PC(USA) General Assembly establish a day of prayer and fasting in 2006 for our Congolese brothers and sisters in the DRC.

In fewer than ten years after Congo became a personal property of King Leopold II of Belgium, Christian churches, starting with the Catholic Church, began to evangelize, educate, and provide health ministries. Early in 1891, the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. arrived by sending two young Presbyterian ministers: one African American from Virginia, the Reverend William Sheppard, and the other white, the Reverend Samuel Lapsley from Alabama.

These two pioneer Presbyterian missionaries formed what is known as the Presbyterian Church of the Congo, which is now a combination of two General Assemblies: the Presbyterian Church in the Congo (CPC), and Presbyterian Church in Kinshasa (CPK). These General Assemblies now exceed two million Congolese members, almost equal to the total membership of the PC(USA).

Presbyterian advocacy for Congolese people traces its roots to the Reverend William Sheppard. Early in his mission work in the Congo, he discovered and exposed human rights abuses of the Congolese by King Leopold II of Belgium.

Congolese human rights abuses existed during the entire seventy-five year rule of King Leopold and the Belgian government, and throughout the entire 32 years of Mobutu’s dictatorship. Injustice and human rights abuses continue to the present day.

Twenty-four delegates from the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia, who visited Kinshasa in July of 2004, were touched by the degree of misery and hardship in which they found their Congolese brothers and sisters living. They came back to the United States with broken hearts full of empathy and compassion. They are the eyewitnesses who heard the Congolese asking for our intervention.

Our Scriptures are rich in calling upon people of faith to address the needs of the poor, oppressed, and weak. Our Lord Jesus calls upon us to love our neighbors and to minister to the least of us. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (Jas. 1:27, NRSV).

The people of the DRC have not experienced the joy of a free, fair, transparent, and democratic election of their national leaders since receiving independence in 1960.

The people of DRC are now urgently calling for a free, fair, transparent, and democratic election of their national leaders as promised to them by the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, sanctioned by a Global and Inclusive Accord and a Transitional Constitution approved by Congolese negotiators in Pretoria, South Africa, on April 4, 2003.

Many Americans of the faith community, as well as American friends of the Congo who have lived in and/or visited this great African country in recent years, now plead for free and fair elections.

In the Congo and around the world, America is seen as a community that cherishes freedom and democratic institutions. In his Second Inaugural Address, President George W. Bush articulated U.S. policy in support of free elections in every country around the globe.

The European Union has donated a large sum of money to support free elections in the DRC, and the United Nations is increasing the number of peacemaking troops in the DRC.