NCPO Statement regarding Coronavirus, 30th March 2020
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN, called for a global ceasefire in light of the coronavirus, saying: The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war. The threats we face as a planet, health pandemics and climate change among them, demand a coordinated international response with no room for continuing to waste resources on armed conflict.
The Network of Christian Peace Organisations urges our government to robustly support this call by discontinuing the sale of arms during this crisis and calling on all involved in current conflicts around the world to lay down their arms.
We are encouraged by the prompt, creative response of British manufacturers to the urgent need for new ventilators and the London ExCel Centre which hosts the DSEI Arms Fair, being used instead for a socially productive purpose as the Nightingale Hospital.
This crisis is teaching the world much about the values of compassion and fairness, and the ability of societies to care for the most vulnerable as the basis of security. All our efforts now are rightly focused on preserving life and we have been heartened by the huge efforts made to this end, and by the strengthening of community bonds across the nation. The coming weeks will be painful for society. We will need time to grieve and to reflect. We hope that the bonds of common humanity, coupled with the compassion and imagination being deployed today can create a lasting legacy for future generations.
Sue Claydon, Chair, Anglican Pacifist Fellowship
John Cooper, Director, Fellowship of Reconciliation
Theresa Alessandro, Director, Pax Christi UK
Martin Tiller, Co-Chair, Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
Andrew Jackson, Paul Maxwell-Rose, Co-Directors, Christian International Peace Service
Oliver Robertson, Head of Worship & Witness for Quaker Peace & Social Witness
Philip Austin, Coordinator, Northern Friends Peace Board
Andrew Fox, President, Community of Christ (British Isles)
Roger Stuart, acting Chair, Congregational Peace Fellowship
Lydia Funck, General Secretary, Church and Peace
Helena Ripley, Trustee, Student Christian Movement
David Rice, Chair, Methodist Peace Fellowship
NCPO is a UK-based ecumenical network committed to peace as central to the meaning of church community. It is a broad group of organisations in the Christian peace tradition committed to furthering peace and encouraging our churches to support the peace movement. http://ncpo.org.uk/
