A Tale of Two Countries: PNG and Switzerland

There’s not a lot these two countries have in common, apart from spectacular mountains and some German churches, but they can work well together. Switzerland hosts the world capital of human rights agencies (in Geneva) and Papua New Guinea hosts Callan Services, a vigorous branch of the Edmund Rice Network that promotes the rights of people with disabilities, in some twenty sites across the country.

The occasion was an invitation to report on the situation of human rights in Papua New Guinea, as part of the Universal Periodic Review process run by the Human Rights Council. So, from the villages and towns of Papua New Guinea, came the stories: stories of great courage, deep compassion, creative solutions and clever training. Then the stories began to coalesce, trends and statistics emerged, and reports were written.

That was Papua New Guinea’s contribution. Then Geneva found others with stories to tell, notably the Marist Brothers in Papua New Guinea and the children in their schools – and those who could not get into school. So a joint submission was prepared and sent to the Human Rights Council, arguing that there were people in Papua New Guinea whose rights needed stronger protection and promotion.

Two countries, both straddling giant mountain ranges, in opposite hemispheres, can work very well together. When it comes down to the value and dignity of every human person, as made by God and re-created in Jesus, why wouldn’t you?