In my work for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, I confront abuses of human rights on a daily basis. I live in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where I coordinate human rights training programs for national officials and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). In my country, a climate of crisis and war requires ongoing action to protect individuals and groups from acts that violate fundamental freedoms and human dignity.
I love my job. I see it as an opportunity to build on something that already exists: the rights everyone has as God's children, governed by His law of love. These rights are not dependent on governmental legislation. In fact, God's law is always in operation, no matter what the circumstances, offering each of His children a life filled with goodness, peace, and protection. How do I know this? Because I've seen seemingly hopeless abuses of human rights corrected through prayer.
There are so many affronts to human rights in the DRC, such as massacre, rape, torture, arbitrary detention, and unfair judicial practices. Basic freedoms seem hard to come by. That's why prayer plays such an important role in my work. I think often about a statement Mary Baker Eddy made in Science and Health: "The best sermon ever preached is Truth practised and demonstrated by the destruction of sin, sickness, and death." Science and Health, p. 201. My job gives me the opportunity to practice and demonstrate Truth through prayer and action. I start by becoming absolutely convinced that each individual's spirituality, dignity, and freedom are alive and uncompromised, because these qualities are protected by God. Then I take that conviction with me as I work to see freedom and justice realized for my country.
