All articles in this series may be found here as they are published.
None of the ten resolutions included in The Economic Community (pages 100-152 of the 2020/2024 Book of Resolutions) are new. Two of these resolutions were amended and readopted.
Resolution 2103: Globalization and its impact on human dignity and human rights
Resolution 2103 (6081 in the 2016 Book of Discipline) addresses a wide range of issues related to the impacts of globalization. Subparagraph F addresses the importance of of peacemaking and peacebuilding. This subparagraph it has for many years called on United Methodists to "urge their governments to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty." In 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons came into effect. The legislative committee suggested this be added to the end of that sentence. This was unanimously approved by the committee and passed on a consent calendar.
Nearly every country in the world, with the notable exception of North Korea, has ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. To date, the United States, Russia, China, Brazil and India, five of the most populous nations in the world, have not ratified the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons treaty. Nigeria is the only country among the top 10 with United Methodist presence to have done so. The following countries with United Methodist presence have also ratified it: Austria, Cambodia, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Honduras, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Nigeria, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Resolution 2112: Support of NETworX
Previously listed as Resolution 4094 when it was originally adopted in 2016, this resolution was more substantially updated by the 2024 General Conference to include more recent rural poverty data and developments within the NETworX network itself. Started in Western North Carolina, NETworX is a grass-roots approach to working alongside people in poverty to achieve measurable improvements in "cognitive, physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and financial" dimensions.
When the resolution was passed in 2016, NETworX had not expanded beyond Western North Carolina. Since that time it has launched multiple sites across all of North Carolina and two in California while maintaining local, grassroots leadership in each of its locations. The updated resolution strengthens the language of the original. The original language simply "encouraged" bishops, general agencies and annual conferences to endorse and support local groups to consider NETworX initiatives. It now reads "Therefore, be it resolved, that the bishops, our general and annual conferences, and agencies endorse and support local groups of United Methodist congregations to be in ministry with the poor and to consider NETworX initiatives."
While the number of changes in this section of the Book of Resolutions is small, their significance lies in highlighting new developments since the 2016 General Conference and calling for robust and direct action by United Methodists in responding proactively to them.
Burton Edwards serves as Lead for Ask The UMC, the United Methodist Information Service.
