The Churches’ Agency on International Issues (CAII) aims to resource New Zealand churches and congregations on international issues.

We live in an increasingly interconnected world and as part of this global network, churches must decide how to respond to international injustice and oppression. To do so, we need to be well informed and listen to the voices of the people involved. CAII Hot Topics explore major international issues to show their historical, political and faith contexts, and to present views often excluded from mainstream media coverage. The programme pilot under the Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian and the Salvation Army Churches was completed in August 2004. The Religious Society of Friends is also now a member. Christian World Service manages the work of CAII.

If you would like further information or to go on the mailing list for free resources 2-3 times a year please contact: international@cws.org.nz Resources are also available below.

CAII Backgrounder

• Israel Palestine: Understanding conflict in the Holy Land (2003) This major report examines the Israel Palestine conflict, one of the most explosive issues in world politics and an issue that has special poignancy for Christians. Includes the Israeli and Palestinian claims to the land, definitions of the key issues, the political history, the current crisis, living under occupation, how Jewish settlements contribute to the conflict, the Israeli and Palestinian groups working for peace, ways to share the land, the role of churches, a theological reflection on overcoming the violence and a moral critique of the promised land theology. Recognising the fluidity of the crisis, the report concludes with useful websites to stay up to date with events. Study guide also available.

CAII Hot Topics

• CAII Hot Topics 11: Mass media in New Zealand. Media is ever present in today’s society, driving so much of what we think and feel about the world. But as media outlets continue to expand, allowing anyone to self publish on the internet, and traditional media forms increasingly become owned by fewer and fewer global conglomerates, how do we know what we read, see and hear is credible?
• CAII Hot Topics 10: How are you travelling? Looks at what tourism is doing to the world including why economic benefits don’t reach local communities, the potential for exploitation of people and their culture, and environmental destruction. Study questions and theological reflection challenge us to abide by a code of ethics when travelling.
• CAII Hot Topics 9: Exceptionally inhumane weapons: Examines the impact of landmines, cluster munitions and Depleted Uranium; the movements to ban these weapons and questions the ethics of arms investment. Includes ways to take action and study questions.
• CAII Hot Topics 8: Immigration matters: looks at definitions of displaced people, refugee resettlement in New Zealand, the responsibility to protect., and the experience of refugees and aslyum seekers settling in New Zealand.
• CAII Hot Topics 7: Palestine-40 years of Occupation. A follow up to the 2003 Israel Palestine report. Examines the growth of illegal Jewish settlements, Gaze seige, child prisoners, the separation wall, the world’s reluctance to act, and non violent protest by Muslims, Christians and Jews.
• CAII Hot Topics 6: Paradise Lost? Seeking a healthy future in the Pacific Focus on HIV and AIDS in the Pacfic including causes of HIV, casestudy of Papua New Guinea, Pacific churches response and the Pacific Islands AIDS Foundation.
• CAII Hot Topics 5: Paradise Lost? Climate Change in the Pacific Looks at the impact of Climate Change on small island nations, what the Pacific churches are saying, and what action can be taken.
• CAII Hot Topics 4: Paradise Lost? Economic Sustainability in the Pacific. Includes trade and development, souces of revenue, constraints to growth, labour migration, reliance on remittances, and overseas aid.
• CAII Hot Topics 3: The War on Terror. Examines terrorism, the war on terror, New Zealand legislation on terrorism and the response of churches.
• CAII Hot Topics 2: Sudan – Hopes for Peace? Background and analysis of the conflict in Darfur and South Sudan, the peace process, and international and church responses.
• CAII Hot Topics 1: Zimbabwe in Crisis.Examines the economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe in 2004, the history behind the country’s collapse and the international response. See also CAII Timeline of Zimbabwean history and the current crisis.