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The World Council of Churches (WCC) is receiving a Bridge Builder Award for building bridges of understanding between people, nations, and communities at national and international levels. The award is presented by the Jury of the 14th August Committee Norway together with The Oslo Center.

At the annual Karlsruhe Foyer Church and Law reception on 15 June, German bishops gathered with judges of the Federal Constitutional Court and Federal Court of Justice, as well as representatives of the Federal Prosecutor's Office and of the legal profession in Germany, to hear some reflections on “Ecumenical engagement for human rights, and current challenges.”

The World Council of Churches (WCC), with an open letter and prayer, shared its hopes for peace on the eve of the first summit between the U.S. and Russian presidents, which will take place in Geneva on 16 June.

As human rights violations worsen in the Philippines, religious leaders there are urging global solidarity for their increasingly urgent quest for justice.

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca will serve as a panelist at a High-Level Event on Fraternity, Multilateralism and Peace: Presentation of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti on 15 April.

As a report on human rights abuses in the Philippines was delivered to the UN by the global group Investigate PH, churches and human rights groups reiterated their concerns over propagation of a culture that allows the abuse to happen.

Following the January 2021 entry into force of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a group of 60 German Christians including theologian Jürgen Moltmann and former World Council of Churches general secretary Konrad Raiser has demanded an end to the doctrine of nuclear deterrence.

An appeal from representatives of Religions for Peace in Norway is urging the Norwegian government to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which will come into force on 22 January.

In a 23 November letter to Audrey Azoulay, director-general of UNESCO, World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca urged the protection of religious and cultural monuments the Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh region.

The WCC executive committee issued a statement calling for calm and wisdom following six weeks of intense fighting for Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh, suspended by an agreement announced between the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia. Welcoming an end to the bloodshed and destruction, the executive committee appealed for “a lasting peace founded on justice and human rights for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh and the wider region.”

“The unbearable toll of lives lost, and the impact on the affected communities and nations, must engage the concern, solidarity and action of the international community and all people of goodwill, to stem the bloodshed and to confront the brutal ideologies behind such atrocities,” wrote Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, interim general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), on 3 November, as he commented on the violent extremist attacks in western Ethiopia, Kabul and Vienna.

Upon the 20th anniversary of the UN Resolution 1325, the question is still being answered as to whether women’s important work in peace and security is getting the visibility it deserves.

World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed deep concern about the violations of the humanitarian ceasefire agreed between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 10 October.

During a meeting of the Higher Committee on Human Fraternity on 9 October at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute, WCC interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca reflected on how best to promote and uphold one humanity.