Document
On the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the World Council of Churches laments the destruction of so many lives, livelihoods and communities in Ukraine, and the harms done beyond its borders. We grieve for all the civilians targeted, killed and wounded, as well as all the military casualties of this unjustifiable war.
The Christian commitment to the sanctity and preservation of lives is fundamental. Accordingly, we reaffirm our position that war is incompatible with God’s very nature and will for humanity and against our core Christian and ecumenical principles.
The worldwide economic turmoil resulting from this conflict has deepened the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis, and has exacerbated a global food crisis, driving millions of the world’s poorest and most marginalized people into acute food insecurity, and generating social and political instability in several countries. It has shaken the foundations of the international order that has prevailed since 1945, and the laws and institutions created to protect the people of the world from the death and destruction of war. It has driven much deeper divisions in the international community at a time when much greater international cooperation is urgently needed to respond to the collective global threat of climate change. A sustainable future for the entire living planet may yet prove to be the war’s greatest casualty.
We call for an immediate end to the conflict in Ukraine, and for all parties concerned to choose the path of dialogue for just peace rather than follow the path of violence which begets more violence, and can never be an instrument for lasting peace.
We demand respect for human rights and international humanitarian law – especially regarding the protection of civilians – and for all the laws and institutions created in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War to protect the people of the world from the horrors of war. We demand full accountability for all the crimes committed against these principles.
We stress among other things the importance of the principles of freedom of religion and belief, and appeal for respect for this fundamental human right even – or especially – in the midst of conflict.
We call for dialogue among the members of the ecumenical movement as well as the wider international community, in order to recall and re-establish the commitments made to each other when the memory of the horrors of the Second World War was fresh in the hearts and minds of those who had lived through them.
We pray for the restoration of our humanity and morality. Within the ecumenical movement, we pray for a renewal of commitment to the churches’ calling to be witnesses against the prevailing logic of the world – the logic of violence and imposed power – and for peace and the fullness of life which God desires for all God’s people.
Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay
General secretary
World Council of Churches
