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In a series of public statements and recommendations approved one day before the end of its 15-22 February meeting in Geneva, the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee covered a wide range of issues.
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; "» New forms of migration and the Gospel imperative of hospitality
Churches and Christians are called to "insist as a matter of principle, that undocumented migrants and asylum-seekers are detained only in exceptional circumstances", "for only a limited time", with access to "judicial review" and never in worse conditions than "convicted criminals".
This is one of the 17 recommendations of a substantial memorandum from the WCC central committee on "uprooted people" which gives account of two of the last decade's "disturbing developments" in this field: the new patterns of migration as a result of globalization, and the effects of September 11.
"Analyzing global patterns of migration reveals an enormous gap between the gospel imperative to practise hospitality towards strangers and the actual policies and practice of governments to close borders".
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; "» Call to declare 2006 UN International Year of Indigenous Languages
According to UNESCO, one of the world's languages is lost every two weeks on average, and 90% of the world's 6,700 languages will become extinct by the end of the century. Faced with this eventuality, "the need to revitalize the world’s indigenous languages", which "carry a storehouse of indigenous knowledge accrued and refined over millennia", becomes all the more urgent.
Expressing its concern, the WCC central committee statement urged "the establishment of a UN International Year of Indigenous Languages in 2006 or a subsequent year", as well as the signature of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; "» "Living letters" delegation to Tsunami countries
The Council's governing body encouraged in a statement the proposal presented in his report by the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia of sending a "living letters" delegation to churches and countries affected by the tsunami.
With profound sadness and deep anguish because of the massive loss of lives, but also encouraged by the spontaneous and unprecedented response to the crisis by all sectors, the central committee emphasized "the importance of keeping the local people at the centre of the initiatives for relief and rehabilitation". It also highlighted "the need for constructive cooperation amongst different faith communities" and for "long-term spiritual accompaniment and trauma counselling".
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; "» United Kingdom government initiatives for African development
UK government initiatives to provide deeper and wider debt relief for poorer countries, particularly those in Africa, including the proposed International Finance Facility and the recently created Commission for Africa, were welcomed by the Public Issues committee of the WCC central committee.
"Given the colonial history of the UK and the country’s difficulties to meet the UN aid target of 0.7 per cent of GNP, this is indeed a welcome and encouraging development", the Public Issues committee stated. It also called on the WCC central committee to ask the general secretary "to continue to be engaged with the British government and monitor how this and other initiatives will affect African countries".
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; "» April 24, 2005 - Commemoration of 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
The Public Issues committee of the WCC central committee recommended to the organization's general secretary "to propose to all member churches to make Sunday April 24 a day of memory of the Armenian Genocide and to consider further appropriate actions". That day is the 90th anniversary of the tragic massacre of one-and-a-half-million Armenians in Turkey and the deportation of another million from their homeland.
"From the Christian perspective, the path towards justice and reconciliation requires the recognition of the crime committed as a sine qua non condition for the healing of memories and the possibility of forgiveness", stated the Public Issues committee.
<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; "» The situation in Vojvodina (Serbia-Montenegro)
The Public Issues committee recommended to the WCC Commission of Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), in contact with the Conference of European Churches, to follow the development of the situation in Vojvodina (Serbia-Montenegro) and consider appropriate actions.
For the WCC, "it is a priority to support the respect for human rights for all people and the unity between the different member churches in the region", the Public Issues committee affirmed.
The full text of the WCC central committee statements and recommendations are available at:
