The following report was presented to and received by the Assembly.
Its resolution was proposed by the Nominations Committee and approved by the Assembly through consensus.

The Nominations Committee, after many hours of work and having had to face directly the dilemmas presented by multiple competing mandates and values, would like respectfully to raise the following concerns which we believe must be clarified by the new Central Committee before the 10th assembly.

  1. Currently the Orthodox 25% participation is placed within the regional allocations, which makes it impossible to achieve the regional percentages reflected in the Assembly seat allocation. This is especially true for the Middle East and Europe, where many Orthodox live, but it is also true for other regions as well. One solution may be to separate the Orthodox numbers from the regional numbers.
  2. While for many years the WCC has had mandated balances of 50% women, 50% lay and 25% youth for the Central Committee, it has never attained any of these percentages. This may be raising unrealistic expectations. On the other hand, the Committee understands and affirms the need to press for the full participation of people in these categories. How do we reconcile these realities and values?
  3. It was immediately clear to us when we examined the delegates list and nominations submitted by the churches that it would be impossible to reach the goal of 25% youth. Even after a plea for more names, we still saw little improvement.
  4. There are multiple-person delegations to the assembly which have not complied with the mandated representation of women, lay persons and/or youth. Since Central Committee members can be drawn only from assembly delegates, this contributes to the difficulty in reaching the mandated balances. How can this be dealt with?

    We understand that the Nominations Committee has the authority to nominate any delegate for the Central Committee. But how realistic is such a nomination if a young person (or a woman) does not have the full support of his/her church? What would such a nomination mean for that young person back at home, and how might this impact their effectiveness in the Central Committee? How do we honour our various cultures and traditions and at the same time enable the full participation of young adults from the whole body of Christ?

    Of the young people nominated to Central Committee, 19 are women and 3 are men. What does this imbalance say to our young men about their role in church life?

    How can young people be guaranteed a significant voice through both quantity of presence and quality of opportunities for participation in the decision-making life of the WCC and of the churches? 

  5. We believe that a clearer process must be developed for the selection of the presidents, beginning with discussions within the regions prior to the assembly. In addition, a more structured process for the actual election of the presidents at the assembly should be designed.
  6. While each Central Committee needs both new and experienced members, should the WCC consider limiting the number of terms served by any individual? As the number of member churches increases, should the WCC reconsider the maximum number of seats available to any one church? Should there be more rotation of member churches on Central Committee and, if so, what system should be put in place for such rotations? 

The Nominations Committee requests that these questions and concerns be forwarded to the new Central Committee early in its work so that they may be clarified long before preparations for the 10th assembly begin.

Resolution:

The Ninth Assembly elects the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches as presented in document NC 04.1.