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Rights of minorities, increasing trends of religious intolerance, political violence, the need for strengthening of interfaith dialogue at grassroots level and Christian contributions to social development were discussed by WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia and Prof. Dr Iajjudin Ahmed, President of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, during his first visit to the country.

By Walt Wiltschek (*)

From 26 March to 2 April World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia will visit WCC member churches in Bangladesh and Thailand for the first time since taking office. On 1 April, he will also be the keynote speaker at the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) general assembly.

The rights of the Papuan people will be the focus of WCC's involvement in the 61st session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). The WCC delegation includes representatives from Papua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Nepal and Colombia. A written submission has been presented to the commission, and a study on the economic, social and cultural rights of the Papuan people, commissioned by German churches with the WCC and undertaken by Papuan academics and human rights defenders, will be released on Thursday, 31 March.

"Reconciliation between the United States and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) remains the key to diffusing tension in the region," said participants in a 17-20 October consultation held under the auspices of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) in Tozanso, Japan.

US Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said in the recent televized debate with George Bush that he favours bilateral talks between America and North Korea. The president, on the other hand, said that he favours the Six-Party Talks on the peaceful reunification of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

Church representatives from North and South Korea as well as from other parts of the world involved in the issue of Korean reunification have been invited to a 17-21 October consultation organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) in Tozanzo, Japan.

Angesichts der wachsenden Not von Kindern in vielen Teilen Asiens werden kirchliche Verantwortliche vom 28. – 31. August in Colombo, Sri Lanka, und vom 1. – 4. September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, zusammenkommen, um darüber zu beraten, wie die Kirchen mobilisiert werden können, sich auf lokaler und nationaler Ebene aktiver gegen die Gewalt an Kindern zu engagieren.

Concerned about the growing plight of children in many parts of Asia, church leaders will gather in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 28-31 August and from 1-4 September in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to evolve a strategy for mobilising churches to take a more active role in overcoming violence against children in both local and national contexts in Asia.

Free photo available - see below.

cf: WCC Press Release PR-04-16 of 1 July 2004