By Bettina Krause
As the heads of state from 54 African countries gathered for a summit, a Seventh-day Adventist leader urged them to recognize “respect for human dignity” as a foundational principle of good governance.
Ganoune Diop, director of public affairs and religious liberty for the Adventist world church, spoke at the prayer breakfast at the 26th African Union Summit, at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
“Religions agree, even secular ideologies agree, on this one principle called ‘human dignity,’” said Diop, an invited presenter at the breakfast, which gathered heads of state, foreign ministers, and religious leaders to pray for those involved in the two-day summit.
“Human dignity is not just one value to be ranked among other values,” he said. It is “a foundational principle that undergirds all human rights in international covenants, treaties and conventions.”
