Europe
This section summarizes church statements and actions regarding countries in the Bulkan Peninsula, Hungry and Romania (grouped together because of church partnerships in the region), and Northern Ireland.
Countries names have changed over time and reflect the time it was written in.
1999: General Assembly noted the letter sent by the Canadian Council of Churches (and signed by the Moderator) expressing grave reservations in regard to the military intervention in Kosovo by members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). (A&P 1999, p. 290)
1993: General Assembly commended the Canadian government for its support of the international peacekeeping operation in former Yugoslavia and asked that governmental involvement in relief efforts and refugee re-settlement be increased. (A&P 1993, pp. 249-250, 38)
1992: General Assembly commended the Canadian government for its support of the Red Cross relief effort in Yugoslavia and for taking part in peace-keeping in Yugoslavia. (A&P 1992, pp. 341-356, 42)
1991: General Assembly praised the Government of Canada for supporting the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and asked the Canadian government to express concern regarding the security and freedom of ethnic and religious minorities in Romania. (A&P 1991, pp. 308-311, 57)
1990: General Assembly expressed gratitude to God for the emergence of several nations (Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Bulgaria and Romania all moved toward democratic systems of government) from totalitarian oppression into growing political and religious liberty. General Assembly encouraged the Canadian government to support the principle of self-determination for the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. (A&P 1990, p. 62)
Hungary & Romania
2016: General Assembly wrote to the Reformed Church of sub-Carpathian Ukraine and the Reformed Church in Hungary expressing the church’s concern at the ongoing discrimination against the Roma. (A&P 2016, pp. 306-314, 23)
1989: General Assembly asked the Canadian government to protest the repressive policies of the Romanian government, to urge the Romanian government to reconstitute an autonomous Hungarian province, and to discuss with signatories of the Paris Peace Treaty the human rights of minorities in Romania. (A&P 1989, pp. 376-378, 63-64)
1988: General Assembly supported the Hungarian Reformed Church, which was faced with having to settle refugees who were fleeing persecution in Romania (in two months, 20,000 refugees crossed the border into Hungary) and asked PWS&D to publicize the plight of the refugees in Hungary. ( A&P 1988, pp. 529, 59)
Northern Ireland
1990: General Assembly condemned the use of violence and any justification for it in Northern Ireland, welcomed all efforts to find a just political settlement, which would recognize the rights of both the Protestant and Catholic communities and the equality of all citizens under the law. Also welcomed were the efforts of peacemakers in Northern Ireland and attempts to break down personal barriers and foster reconciliation. (A&P 1990, pp. 407-410, 62) Context Note: In 1921 Ireland was divided with the majority of the population in the newly-independent and largely Catholic Republic of Ireland while the six counties of the largely Protestant region of Ulster remained part of the United Kingdom. In the 1960s the Catholic minority of Northern Ireland began a campaign of civil disobedience to protest anti-Catholic discrimination, which degenerated into campaigns of violent terrorism and counter-terrorism still present in 1990.
Ukraine
2023: General Assembly passed a recommendation that commended congregations and individuals for their generous support in their response to the Ukraine Relief appeal. (A&P 2023, pp. 24, 194)
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