Justice and peace provided a framework for planning and assessment of programmes as the WCC Central Committee met in Geneva from 16 to 22 February 2011.

The WCC Central Committee expressed “its deep concern and disappointment” at the recent veto by the United States of a UN Security Council resolution condemning continued settlement construction by Israel in the Palestinian Territories.

A half century of civil conflict fuelled by drug money and corporate hegemony has left Colombia with tens of thousands dead and the second largest population of displaced people (approximately 4 million) in the world.

Three decades into the AIDS pandemic it has become clear that churches, non-governmental agencies and governments need to redouble their efforts to combat the disease and its effects, said the central governing body of the WCC during its 2011 meeting.

“God of life, lead us to justice and peace” will provide the theme for the 10th Assembly of the WCC. The Assembly is to be convened in October 2013 at Busan, South Korea.

At their meeting this week the WCC Central Committee issued a statement strongly welcoming the recognition of water and sanitation as a human right by the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council.

On the final morning of its proceedings the WCC Central Committee adopted a resolution concerning the escalating violence in Libya condemning the use of force on all sides and calling for the respect for human rights of all people in Libya.

The WCC Central Committee today adopted several statements, minutes and resolutions voicing concerns over the situation in the Middle East, the right to water and sanitation around the world, the plight of indigenous Australians and the protracted violence in Colombia.

The Rev. Jennifer Leath is a member the WCC's Joint Consultative Group with the Pentecostals and of ECHOS, the WCC commission of youth. She is a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the USA and identifies herself as “a Black American who lives in solidarity with those in the African Diaspora and all those who experience oppression, these are they who capture my heart.”

Jamaica – a proud and independent Caribbean nation struggling with a high level of violence and criminality – is the location of the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) facilitated by the WCC from 17 to 25 May 2011.

African religious leaders praised ecumenical bodies last Friday – particularly the WCC – for helping create "the miracle" of southern Sudanese independence.

Several key leaders of the Christian churches in Iraq met with international church leaders, including members of the WCC Central Committee, in Geneva this week about the ongoing situation in Iraq.

The image of Madagascar was deeply tarnished by the political crisis of 2009. For their part, the churches there have a role in helping to maintain the peace.

As the WCC takes new steps to promote Christian unity and inter-religious harmony, will the challenges of organizational governance and re-structuring drain “the life out of the ecumenical movement”?

A groundbreaking agreement was announced Wednesday making all students attending the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey eligible to receive an accredited certificate from the University of Geneva.

“There is no theological reflection that does not take place in God’s vulnerable world and in the midst of the joy and suffering of ordinary people,” said the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in his report to the first meeting of the WCC Central Committee that he has addressed as general secretary.

Rev. Dr Walter Altmann, moderator of the WCC Central Committee, argued forcefully today that unity as well as justice and peace should be included in the theme for the next assembly of the world’s largest ecumenical body.

The International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, the situation of Christians in the Middle East and proposed changes in the internal structure of the organization, are among the main items on the agenda of the WCC Central Committee, meeting from 16 to 22 February at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

The World Council of Churches is hosting an international exhibition of textiles, arpilleras and quilts from 16 February to 18 March at its Geneva headquarters. The curator Roberta Bacic, a former member of Chile’s truth and reconciliation commission, will officially open the exhibition on Wednesday 16 February, the first day of the WCC Central Committee meeting, together , with moderator Rev. Dr Walter Altmann and general secretary Tveit.