Christian Peacemaker Teams is an international organization set up to support teams of peace workers in conflict areas around the world. These teams work to lower the levels of violence through human rights documentation, accompaniment of threatened civilians and nonviolence training.

The inspiration for the group came from Ron Sider at the Mennonite World Conference in 1984. In it, Sider criticized Mennonites and Brethren in Christ for reducing their peace witness to simple conscientious objection:

Unless we Mennonites and Brethren in Christ are ready to start to die by the thousands in dramatic vigorous new exploits for peace and justice, we should sadly confess that we really never meant what we said... Unless comfortable North American and European Mennonites and Brethren in Christ are prepared to risk injury and death in nonviolent opposition to the injustice our societies foster and assist in Central America, the Philippines, and South Africa, we dare never whisper another word about pacifism to our sisters and brothers in those desperate lands... Unless we are prepared to pay the cost of peacemaking, we have no right to claim the label or preach the message.[1]

After a series of meetings, Gene Stoltzfus was hired as the first staff person for the new organization in 1987. Over the next few years CPT trainings and conferences explored various models for international peacemaking. In 1990, just before the Gulf War, CPT sent a team of 13 to Iraq for 10 days. This delegation proved to be the first of a number the group sent its first delegations to Haiti, Iraq, and the West Bank.

Today CPT has a full time corps of over 30 activists who work in Colombia, Iraq, the West Bank and Ontario, Canada. These teams are supported by over 150 reservists who spend 2 weeks to 2 months a year on location.

CPT has its roots in the historic peace churches of North America, but today has a broad ecumenical base among many Christian denominations and works in partnership with Jewish, Muslim and secular peace organizations around the world. A large component of CPT's work is educating churches across North America about the situations in which CPTers work and advocating for a more engaged peace witness.

CPT in Iraq

CPT has operated in Iraq since October 2002. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, they have worked with and advocated for families of people detained by the U.S. Military and collected stories of detainee abuse. In January 2004 they released a report documenting routine abuse of Iraqi prisoners held by Coalition Provisional Authority, well before the photographs of Abu Ghraib prisoners brought international attention to the issue. [2]

External Links

• Christian Peacemaker Teams - main website for CPT