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During the past two years, Italy has experienced massive migration flows from North Africa as hundreds of thousands of people try to cross the Mediterranean to escape persecution, war and mass killings.

The Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network of the WCC together with the Caribbean arm of the Council for World Mission convened a two-day seminar on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recently.

The theme “Discrimination, Persecution, Martyrdom: Following Christ Together” remained in sharp focus at a Global Christian Forum consultation in Albania. The event from 1-5 November in Tirana gathered some 150 international participants, including representatives of the WCC.

The refugee situation is something that we must treat with the utmost seriousness. People are fleeing without food, water and somewhere to live. These are people who have fled for their lives. It is a fact that we must treat with the utmost seriousness, says Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC.

Cardinal Kurt Koch of the Roman Catholic Church, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, has granted an interview to WCC News. The conversation took place at the Global Christian Forum in Tirana, Albania where 150 high level leaders and representatives of various church traditions from more than 60 countries gathered to listen and learn from one another and to stand in solidarity with churches and Christians experiencing discrimination and persecution in the world today.

Participants in Manilakbazan 2015, called by some the “Lumad caravan”, have come to Manila for a month-long series of activities and protests to bring attention to human rights violations in Lumad communities of the Philippines.

The Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network of the WCC in collaboration with the Council for World Mission and International Disability Alliance hosted a two-day seminar on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

A group of 35 bishops and church leaders from 20 countries have gathered in Munich, Germany to discuss refugees and the role of the churches in Europe with a recommendation for safe passage to those seeking refuge.

Today 35 bishops and church leaders from 20 countries gathered in Munich, Germany to discuss the refugee situation and the role of the churches in Europe.

At Laugarneskirkja — one of the many churches of the Lutheran national church in Iceland — Reza, an Iranian Kurd, is sharing the story of how he came to Iceland more than a year ago.

Supported by the World Council of Churches' Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network, people with disabilities are welcomed at the Bio Intensive Agricultural Training Centre run by the Methodist Church of Kenya. People with disabilities learn livelihood skills with other members of the community at the Centre, contributing towards local development.

The international refugee crisis will be the focus of a consultation of 35 bishops and church leaders from 20 countries, to be held on 29 October in Munich, Germany. There will be representatives from churches in the most affected regions and from most of the church families in Europe: Orthodox, Catholics, Lutherans, Reformed, Methodist and representatives from the Middle East and Africa, as well as representatives from ecumenical organizations and from church-based humanitarian and refugee organizations.

It is raining. It is cold and windy. Autumn is in the air in northern Greece. We have just arrived at the Idomeni refugee camp in northern Greece, on the border between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). The fast-approaching winter poses as great a threat to the refugees as do the smugglers. In the worst case, winter means death.

The United Church of Christ and The United Church of Canada, both members of the WCC, formalized a full communion agreement in a worship service at St. Andrew's United Church, Niagara Falls, Ontario, on 17 October.

At the 42nd Committee on World Food Security in Rome on 12-15 October, the intergovernmental body continued its quest to coordinate a global approach to food security.

In a recent statement, religious leaders called for an ambitious climate agreement, reminding all governments to commit to emission cuts and climate risk reduction. They promised to continue working for climate justice, including divestment from fossil energy.

Representatives of the WCC visited Greece to strengthen efforts in support of refugees in Europe and the Middle East.

What do Indigenous peoples expect of churches in light of the report of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission on church-run residential schools for aboriginal children?

As the world marks the 15th anniversary of the unanimous adoption of the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, the WCC will participate in a Peace Forum 28 to 30 October in New York City to commemorate achievements related to the resolution and to strategize on strengthening and mobilizing women and men for even more effective implementation.

The WCC congratulated the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) on its 40th anniversary.