Statement on Threats to Peace and People’s Security: A Kairos Moment for Just Peace

If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes… because you did not recognize the time [Kairos] of your visitation from God. (Luke 19:42 and 44)

Meeting in Johannesburg, South Africa—amid escalating conflicts and renewed challenges to the churches’ witness for peace—on the 40^th anniversary of the historic South African Kairos Document, the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) recalls and reaffirms the 11^th Assembly’s statement “The Things That Make for Peace: Moving the World to Reconciliation and Unity.” This foundational assertion of ecumenical principles rejects war as contrary to God’s will and calls for an immediate global ceasefire as a moral imperative.

Reading the signs of the times through the lens of Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41–44), the WCC discerns this as a Kairos moment—a critical time demanding urgent, faithful action to build just and lasting peace, or face deepening crisis and judgment. Confronted today by the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of conflicts around the world, the dangerous erosion of international law and norms (especially for the protection of civilians), escalating militarization, arms proliferation, growing nuclear threats, failure of meaningful dialogue and the stalling of “just peace” efforts, the WCC issues a renewed and urgent call: for a global ceasefire, nuclear disarmament, the pursuit of justice, inclusive dialogue, and an end to policies and systems that perpetuate violence.

In response to this crisis, the WCC emphasizes the need for renewed ecumenical solidarity and prophetic witness. It calls for active peacebuilding that bridges divides and models unity, and for the wider adoption of non-violent resistance to injustice, oppression, and militarism. We reaffirm the WCC’s steadfast commitment to the rule of law—both internationally, through instruments such as the Geneva Conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights conventions, and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and other disarmament conventions, and nationally, through constitutional principles such as Article 9 of Japan’s Constitution, which renounces war as a sovereign right.

Nearly three years since the 11^th Assembly, the global reliance on armed force has not abated—it has intensified. Military power has once again become the preferred tool for advancing national interests, as constraints have been cast aside and fundamental principles of international law disregarded. The longstanding taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is being undermined by rhetoric and policies that openly contemplate their use. The irrational and deeply immoral doctrine of nuclear deterrence has returned to the centre of geopolitical strategy.

This moment calls the global Christian community—and all people of faith and goodwill—to recognize the things that make for peace. It is a time not only of warning but of opportunity: a Kairos for bold, collective action in service of God's justice and peace.

During the days of our meeting, Israel’s widespread and ongoing attacks on Iran have added an acutely dangerous new element to the existing tally of conflicts and threats to peace around the world. Followed now by the USA’s aggressive entrance into this unjustified and illegal war, these attacks recklessly compound the already massive violations, consequences and risks resulting from Israel’s military actions in Gaza and Lebanon, threatening even greater instability and wider conflict in the Middle East region and globally, and raising the terrible spectre of nuclear war.

The Central Committee:

• Calls on the Government of Israel to desist from these attacks and its violations of international law, in Iran, Gaza, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
• Calls on all states concerned to avoid further conflict and escalation.
• Appeals to the Government of the United States of America to refrain from any further engagement in support of Israel’s reckless attacks on Iran or elsewhere in the region.
• Expresses its profound shock at the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe being inflicted on the people of Gaza by the Government and military forces of Israel, and denounces the repeated killings of Palestinians seeking to access aid at distribution centres in Gaza.
• Joins the churches of the Middle East, and all people of faith and good will around the world, in praying for peace in the region.

In Syria, the fall of the Bashar al-Assad’s Ba’athist regime in December 2024, and the end of the violent oppression and abuses this regime had perpetrated, raised new hopes of a just, inclusive and peaceful future for the Syrian people. However, those hopes were dimmed when in March 2025 Syrian security forces and pro-government militias massacred more than 1500 Alawite civilians and others (including Christians and Druze) in reprisals following ambushes on government forces and civilians by military loyalists to the former Assad regime, amid efforts to destabilize and provoke further sectarian conflict in Syria.

A joint statement issued by the Heads of Churches in Syria on 29 December 2024 expressed a vision for a new Syria based on reconciliation, dialogue, partnership, and hope. Their call for a culture of dialogue and national unity remains more urgent than ever in the face of such destabilizing events. The use of sectarian narratives to justify violence has deeply fragmented Syrian society, threatening the possibility of national reconciliation and peaceful coexistence. Such tactics must be rejected, and all efforts focused on restoring trust and unity among Syrians, on dialogue among the diverse components of Syria’s society, and on working for a future rooted in justice, equality, healing, and peace.

The Central Committee:

• Invites all WCC member churches and ecumenical partners to offer Christian solidarity, accompaniment and support to the churches and Christian communities of Syria and interfaith and civil society partners in this perilous new phase in the country’s long history.
• Urges all governments and the United Nations to closely monitor developments in Syria, and to support Syrian people’s efforts for equal rights, inclusive democracy, justice, and social cohesion in the country, and for the protection of Christians and churches in Syria.
• Requests the WCC general secretary to consult with WCC member churches and ecumenical partners in Syria on ways in which WCC can support and assist them in this new context and for these purposes.

In Ukraine, intensified Russian missile attacks on civilian communities and infrastructure - such as those that took place in Kryvyi Rih on 4 April (killing 20 civilians, including 9 children), in Sumy on Palm Sunday, 13 April 2025 (killing 35 civilians, including children, and injuring over 100 others), in Kyiv on 17 June (killing 28 people, and injuring at least 134 others) and in many other places on an almost daily basis - compound the wrongdoings of the Russian authorities in their ongoing invasion and war against the Ukrainian people. We also note with concern reports of attacks impacting passenger trains in the Bryansk and Kursk regions of Russia in late May and early June 2025 which have been attributed to Ukraine.

Dialogue between Russia and Ukraine is now being promoted by other governments. In every case of conflict or conflict risk, WCC calls for dialogue and negotiation rather than violence and armed force as the only viable path to sustainable peace. But a dialogue that is imposed and is not predicated on justice is no true dialogue and cannot result in a just and sustainable peace. Moreover, even as dialogue is being promoted, Russia is escalating its attacks and campaign of terror against the Ukrainian people.

The Central Committee:

• Expresses its deep concern for the suffering of Ukrainian and Russian civilians in the context of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and denounces Russia’s escalating attacks and campaign of terror against the Ukrainian people.
• Prays for peace in Ukraine and Russia, but a just peace, that does not reward the aggressor for its crimes.
• Calls for respect for freedom of religion or belief throughout the region.
• Encourages the WCC general secretary to continue his efforts to seek ways in which, with and through the churches of both Russia and Ukraine, the situation can be ameliorated for the people of Ukraine and the region.
• Requests the general secretary to seek to convene theological dialogues on the war in Ukraine.

The world’s largest humanitarian crisis is driven by the ongoing civil war in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which has left nearly two thirds of the country’s population in dire need of humanitarian assistance, including 16 million children, and to a much higher incidence of human trafficking. However, despite the enormity of the suffering inflicted on Sudan’s people, the fighting continues with neither leader seeming to feel a sense of responsibility to the people, and with other countries continuing to provide materiel and financial support to one or the other side. 

Meanwhile, the complicated and unstable path on which South Sudan has been travelling since its independence in 2011, and especially since the civil war of 2013-2020, has once again taken a negative turn. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed fears that the “peace agreement is in shambles” and South Sudan is on “the edge of a collapse into civil war”.

The Central Committee:

• Appeals to the government and military leaders of Sudan and South Sudan to remember their responsibility to the people of their countries, to cease and refrain from conflict that can only bring more suffering to even more people, and return to the path of dialogue and negotiations for the peace that their people deserve.
• Denounces the provision of arms, materiel and financial resources by outside actors to enable continued or renewed conflict in these countries, and the human traffickers preying upon Sudan’s children and women made so acutely vulnerable by the destruction of their country and communities.
• Requests the WCC general secretary to continue efforts for the establishment of a new Ecumenical Network for Sudan, and to support the South Sudan Council of Churches, as vehicles for accompanying and supporting the churches and people of these nations.

Likewise, the crisis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – one of the most protracted and complex humanitarian crises in the world – has once again been exacerbated by renewed conflict in the eastern part of the country. Decades of clashes between the Congolese armed forces and various non-State armed groups, widespread violations of human rights, and devastating incidents of sexual and gender-based violence have caused exceptionally high levels of humanitarian need, persistent instability and recurrent bouts of violence. 

An escalation of violence in eastern DRC since January 2025, due to an offensive by the Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group, which has resulted in thousands of deaths and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes. Atrocities have been perpetrated also by other armed groups vying for control of the mineral-rich region. A particularly horrific incident occurred in February, in which more than 70 people – including children, women and elderly people – were brutally killed and beheaded in a Protestant church in Kasanga, North Kivu province, reportedly by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), an Islamic State affiliated group originating from Uganda that has been operating in both Uganda and the DRC for over a decade. 

Faith and civil society groups have joined in issuing the Goma Call for Peace, calling for immediate and unconditional cessation of hostilities, protection of the civilian population, and a resumption of dialogue in good faith between Rwanda and the DRC, advocating for peaceful and diplomatic means to end the conflict that has caused such immense suffering.

We acknowledge the complicity of many in the wider international community in the persistent instability and conflict in the region, in terms of the exploitation of coltan and other ‘blood minerals’ in which eastern Congo is so rich, and for control of which these conflicts are being fought.

We are encouraged by recent news of a provisional peace agreement having been reached between the DRC and Rwanda, which is scheduled to be formally signed at ministerial level on 27 June. The agreement, brokered by the United States of America, aims to end the fighting in eastern Congo, and reportedly covers territorial integrity, a prohibition of hostilities, the disengagement, disarmament, and conditional integration of non-state armed groups, and the establishment of a joint security mechanism.

The Central Committee:

• Lifts up in prayer the people of eastern DRC afflicted by renewed conflict and persistent instability in their region.
• Welcomes the provisional agreement between the DRC and Rwanda for an end to the fighting in eastern Congo which has caused so much death, displacement and suffering, and urges the Governments of the DRC and Rwanda to proceed to formalize this agreement and to implement it fully and without delay in order to bring peace and stability back to the affected region.
• Requests the WCC General Secretary to explore possibilities for engaging with and through the churches, and in cooperation with relevant peacebuilding organizations active in the region, to strengthen social cohesion and community protection, including by leading an ecumenical solidarity visit/pilgrimage encounter in the region.

WCC works closely with its member churches in Ethiopia – the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) and the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) – as well as with the Ethiopian Catholic Church (ECC) to address the challenges faced by the Ethiopian people in a context of conflicts in several parts of the country, escalating humanitarian needs, increasing ethnically-defined divisions, and proliferating hate speech. 

At an historic meeting convened by WCC in November 2023, senior leaders of all three churches committed to the re-formation of a ‘Joint Resilience Partnership’ for closer coordination in humanitarian response, and to the establishment of a national council of churches in Ethiopia. Unfortunately, very little progress has been made in realizing these commitments. Meanwhile, the situation in Ethiopia and the region remains very tense, with ongoing conflicts in various parts of the country, and escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The Central Committee:

• Encourages the churches of Ethiopia, through closer cooperation and more visible unity among them, to give a witness and example to a divided society.
• Requests the WCC general secretary to provide all possible assistance to the churches of Ethiopia in this regard.

In 2025, the Korean Peninsula marks the 80^th year of division and the 72^nd year since the signing of the Armistice Agreement that suspended – but did not officially end – the Korean War. The peninsula remains one of the most sensitive flashpoints in the world, where longstanding and renewed military tensions continue to threaten regional and global peace, including the risk of nuclear war.

WCC launched the Tozanso Peace Process in 1984, facilitating and accompanying encounter between North and South Korean Christians through four decades, seeking to promote peace, reunification and cooperation on the peninsula. However, in recent years, official dialogue between North and South Korea has come to a halt, and mutual trust has been significantly undermined. Tensions have been exacerbated in particular over the past three years, due to policies that prioritized deterrence and confrontation over dialogue and trust-building.

However, with the recent impeachment of the previous President and the formation of a new democratic government in the South with an expressed commitment to peace and to dialogue with the North, there is renewed hope. On 11 June 2025, the South Korean government announced the suspension of loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts towards the North, an initial step toward reducing tensions and reopening channels of communication.

The Central Committee:

• Reaffirms the commitments made at the 1989 WCC Central Committee meeting in Moscow and the 10th Assembly in Busan in 2013, and the continuing importance of the Korean Peninsula as a ‘station’ on the ecumenical Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation and Unity.
• Invites all WCC member churches and ecumenical partners to renew their commitment to prayer, solidarity, and concrete action for a just and lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula – including by participating in the annual prayer for peace on the Korean Peninsula (on the Sunday closest to 15 August).
• Encourages the WCC general secretary to continue to accompany the National Council of Churches in Korea (NCCK) and the churches of South Korea in their efforts for sustainable peace in the region, to continue to attempt to re-establish regular communication and exchange visits with the Korean Christian Federation (KCF) of North Korea as a bridge for renewed relationships and cooperation, and to expand participation in the Ecumenical Forum for Korea (EFK).
• Calls for measures to support humanitarian cooperation with North Korea and to enable church-to-church encounter and solidarity, especially by removing or substantially reducing current sanctions and travel bans.

In global context of increasing conflict and militarization, Colombia has presented a relatively more positive picture, with a government committed to pursuing a comprehensive, just, and sustainable peace, after more than 60 years of endemic and entrenched internal conflicts. However, failures by successive governments to implement key provisions of the 2016 Peace Agreement with the FARC-EP, the largest guerrilla group, have undermined the credibility of commitments made in subsequent processes. 

Moreover, the peace processes pursued by the current government with different armed groups have encountered a range of obstacles, and have failed to realize the ambition of ‘Total Peace’ or to deliver sufficient improvements to the lives of people in the conflict-affected rural areas of Colombia. With the term of the current government concluding with elections in May 2026, the commitment to pursuing dialogue for peace in Colombia is at risk. 

In this transitional period, WCC continues to serve as one of the Permanent Accompaniers of the dialogue table between the Colombian Government and the EMBF of the FARC-EP (a faction that did not join the 2016 Peace Agreement), and to cooperate with DiPaz (Inter-ecclesial Dialogue for Peace in Colombia) and Felm (Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission) in a consortium for peacebuilding in Colombia which was initiated in June 2024.

The Central Committee:

• Expresses its profound appreciation to Dr Humberto Shikiya for his service as WCC Special Envoy for the peace processes in Colombia, a role which has now been transferred to Prof. Fernando Enns as non-resident Special Envoy and to Ms Jenny Neme as Deputy Special Envoy and Resident Representative, while Dr Shikiya remains as Senior Advisor on peacebuilding in Colombia.
• Reaffirms the WCC’s commitment to accompanying and supporting all efforts for a just and sustainable peace in Colombia.
• Calls on all States and all relevant intergovernmental organizations to continue to support and encourage political commitment to dialogue for peace in Colombia, and to speak and act against any reversal of this commitment.
• Urges the Government of Colombia to ensure that the experiences and needs of people and communities in the territories are heard in the dialogue processes, and that such processes deliver real improvements in the lives of people and communities affected by violence.

Violence begets violence, and hostility deepens division, but dialogue, cooperation, justice, mutual respect, and shared responsibility for life in society make peace possible.

The Central Committee:

• Appeals for all States to remember the lessons of history, to reverse course away from war and towards peace, to stop their renewed arms races, to step back from the precipice of nuclear confrontation, and to discover the true foundations of sustainable peace – not in the force of arms, but in the pursuit of justice and equal rights for all, and in the recognition of our common humanity.
• Renews the 11th Assembly’s appeal for a global ceasefire, as an urgent moral imperative, in all armed conflicts around the world, and for parties to such conflicts to engage and persist in dialogue and negotiations until just and sustainable peace can be achieved, and to abstain from war.
• Highlights the impact of proliferating armed conflicts and violence (including sexual violence against women and girls) on the most vulnerable, especially children and people with disabilities. We recognize that violent conflict inevitably increases the number of persons with disabilities as well as disrupting services to persons with disabilities which results in yet more suffering and deaths.
• Demands respect for the principles of international humanitarian and human rights law, which have been established for the protection of people and communities from the scourge of war.
• Urges once again all States that have not already done so to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, especially nuclear umbrella states and nuclear-armed states that are the source of this global threat.
• Reiterates the 11th Assembly’s call for a deep renewed dialogue within the ecumenical movement on the implications of our Christian faith for our witness for peace in the world and for our ecumenical commitment to the “Way of Just Peace”.
• Lifts up, among others, the particular experience and challenges of the churches and people of the Pacific region, who suffer the continuing legacy of nuclear weapons testing in their islands and waters by the USA, the UK and France, compounding the imminent existential threats posed by climate change and rising sea levels. They stand on the frontline of these threats, due to our collective failure to pursue ‘Just Peace with the Earth’ as an essential dimension of ‘The Way of Just Peace’.
• Commits and calls for Christian solidarity, support and cooperation with the churches and Christian communities in all these and so many other contexts of conflict, violence, instability and threat.

Once again we pray that the love of Christ will move this suffering and divided world to reconciliation and to unity, and that all perpetrators of violence and division will repent of their sins and act to restore justice and peace.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9