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Strong concerns were expressed by the WCC Executive Committee over the increasing number of internally displaced persons and the on-going conflict in South Sudan in statements adopted by the committee on 12 February, during its meeting in Bossey, Switzerland.

El Comité Ejecutivo del CMI expresó su profunda preocupación por el número en aumento de desplazados internos y por el actual conflicto en Sudan del Sur en las declaraciones aprobadas por el Comité el 12 de febrero, durante su reunión en Bossey (Suiza).

The WCC Executive Committee has condemned the use of drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles saying that they pose “serious threats to humanity” and the “right to life” while setting “dangerous precedents in inter-state relations”.

El Comité Ejecutivo del CMI ha denunciado el uso de los drones, o UAV (vehículos aéreos no tripulados), afirmando que representan una seria amenaza para la humanidad y para el derecho a la vida y sientan un peligroso precedente en las relaciones interestatales.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been globally celebrated this year with prayers, reflections, ecumenical services and events focusing on Paul’s question in Corinthians 1 “Has Christ been divided?” a theme for this year’s prayer materials, prepared by the Canadian churches.

At the Second United Nations Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights, human rights defenders from Colombia and Guatemala exposed degrading environmental, ecological, economic and social impacts on indigenous communities. These impacts are consequences of the projects run by multinational companies in a number of countries.

En el segundo Foro anual de las Naciones Unidas sobre las Empresas y los Derechos Humanos, los defensores de los derechos humanos de Colombia y Guatemala expresaron su preocupación por el impacto de la degradación medioambiental, ecológica, económica y social en las comunidades indígenas. Este impacto es una consecuencia de los proyectos gestionados por empresas multinacionales en varios países.

Three human rights activists from indigenous communities in Guatemala and Colombia will present cases highlighting human rights violations by multinational corporations in their countries, including instances of land grabbing, at the Second United Nations Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights.

Work for the rights of religious minorities should be done in the spirit of universalism, said the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in his opening address at a WCC consultation.

A WCC consultation in Geneva will facilitate dialogue on issues related to religious minorities and the politicization of religion, which contributes to discrimination and persecution of religious minorities around the world.

The Archives of the WCC in Geneva have provided both research materials and a space for public consideration of “the ecumenical movement and Cold War politics”.

“Welcoming and protecting the strangers and the aliens, especially the migrants, are at the core of our mission as churches,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, in a meeting with Prof. François Crépeau, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed condolences following the death of Brother Jeffrey Gros, recalling his significant contributions to Christian unity and ecumenical dialogue as a Catholic theologian.

In a recent meeting in the Netherlands, theologians and ecumenists came together to give renewed consideration to an interim statement titled A Church of All and for All, first produced in 2003 by the Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network and the WCC’s Commission on Faith and Order.

In Tahiti, an ecumenical delegation was told about the need for re-inscription of French Polynesia (Maohi Nui) on the United Nations list of countries to be decolonized.

At the recent World Social Forum, ecumenical voices warned about the grave consequences of extraction of natural resources and mining, which they say generate a tremendous amount of social and ecological debt.

“Faith and Order has a long and significant history in the life of the ecumenical movement. Its two convergence texts, 'Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry' and now 'The Church: Towards a Common Vision', provide our member churches with the necessary theological tools towards the full communion of our common fellowship,” said Metropolitan Prof. Dr Gennadios of Sassima. Metropolitan Gennadios serves as vice-moderator of the WCC Central Committee.