A Statement from QEW’s UN Working Group

Statement to the Post 2015 Consultations

Submitted by Quaker Earthcare Witness, July 10 2013

For more information about QEW please contact Anne Mitchell, General Secretary.

As Quakers, part of our tradition is to remain open to all sources of wisdom and recognize that we are all seekers and stewards of creation. Rather than prescribing courses of action, Quakers seek truth by first questioning the actions of their own lives, rather than prescribing courses of actions for others.

The following questions and concerns have come from many Quaker groups. They may be helpful to other civil society organizations and other faiths. In Friends World Conference’s Kabarak Call to Peace and Ecojustice (2012) we committed to “cooperate lovingly with all who share our hopes for the future of the earth.” We begin by asking ourselves:

• Do our lives speak? Do our own actions accord with our principles of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, and Equality? Can there be peace without justice, or community without sustainability, or sustainability without simplicity?
• Do we respect that of God in everything that lives? Do we recognize the utter dependence of human society on the intricate web of life in this sacred place, our Earth? Can we search out the seeds of war and destruction in ourselves and in our way of life? Can we teach our children right relationship, to live in harmony with each other and all living beings in the earth, waters and sky of our Creator?
• Do we live in that life and power which takes away the occasion for all war? Can we love our neighbor as ourselves, aid the widow and orphan, comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable, appeal to consciences and bind the wounds?
• Are we actively reducing our ecological footprints? Do we promote earth’s healing, not just for our use, but for future generations and the survival of other species? Do we dispose of waste in regenerative ways? Do we avoid spending and investing money in ways that result in others doing things to the world that we would not do ourselves? Are we aware how our use of energy connects us directly to the greenhouse effect and to world food supplies? Are we aware how our bank interest rates link us to the debt burdens of the poor? Are we willing to consume less ourselves in order to promote rightful sharing of the world’s limited resources?