Held at Golfview Hotel – Hotel Lusaka on the 2nd of June 2015 (Presentation by Pukuta N. Mwanza)

Introduction

It is important to mention from the onset of the fact that the subject of human rights is widely controversial among various groups of people including among the Christians. This is largely due to the fact that these rights have taken a twist that has tampered with the need for man’s obedience to God such as some of the practices that are being championed in the name of human rights that in the sight of God may be an act of disobedience.

As we look at the Biblical reflections on the church and human rights, the starting point will be what the Bible says about Human Rights. This in itself can take so much time to explore and create an understanding of the theology of human rights. The human rights we are referring to are those developed and propagated by the United Nations through the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. When one looks at the list of those human rights, they are aimed at protecting individuals from danger, harm or abuse by others and ensuring that individuals enjoyed certain freedoms and liberties all across the world at all times. To be universal, it means that these rights ought to be respected all across the world and member states of the United Nations sign treaties and protocols to ensure compliance with these rights.

(International Conference Against Xenophobia hosted at the Copperbelt University in Kitwe - Zambia)

Introduction.

The problem of xenophobia (in Africa and everywhere else in the world) is an unacceptable behaviour reflecting various forms of injustice, discrimination and hatred against people of other nationalities. The result of xenophobia has been injuries, damage to property, death and displacement of people perpetrated by the locals who negatively perceive foreigners as being responsible for their social and economic predicaments such as unemployment, poverty, homelessness, illiteracy, etc. The locals tend to regard the foreigners to have taken away their privileges for social services in their country although this may often not be true in many circumstances.

10th November 2014

Your Excellencies, Distinguished invited guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the church fraternity in Zambia, I welcome you who have gathered to join in the send-off service  for  His Excellency Mr. Michael Chilufya Sata, the 5th President of the Republic of Zambia who passed on in London on 28th October 2014. I am deeply privileged to give you the opening remarks in this Interdenominational Church Service.

By calling for this thanksgiving church service, we remember with gratitude his life, his accomplishments, his values and all that he stood for in his entire life and we give thanks to God for those things President Sata did to contribute towards making Zambia a better place in which to live. Death is a painful reality on this side of eternity and it robs us of people that are so dear to us. Unfortunately we cannot stop it but only prepare for it by living in obedience to God’s will.  Allow me to quote the wishes made by Alexander the Great. (Refer to the attachment).