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The head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Patriarch Abune Paulos, one of the presidents of the WCC, has spoken out forcefully in favour of peace and reconciliation in a region beset by conflicts.

"Deeply distressed" by the current escalation of the Israel/Palestine conflict, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia called on the international community "to take bold and novel actions to uphold international law and break the vicious cycle of violence" in the region. Both parties should engage in "equitable negotiations," he said.

A brief visit by World Trade Organization (WTO) director-general Pascal Lamy to the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva on Thursday 29 June gave World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Samuel Kobia an opportunity to share ecumenical concerns on economic justice and international trade, and for Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) board member Richard Fee to present a religious leaders' petition for justice in trade negotiations, with/to the organization.

At its first meeting, the WCC's newly-appointed Standing Commission on Faith and Order named six officers to oversee its work until the next WCC Assembly in 2013. Following an address by WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia, the Standing Commission also outlined major areas of study for the period.

A member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) was attacked by a woman settler in the Tel Rumeida district of Hebron on Friday, 23 June.

A multi-religious prayer service and a debate on ethical dilemmas in micro-disarmament are being organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) within the framework of the UN Review Conference on the Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons taking place in New York from 26 June - 7 July 2006.

Five international Christian bodies this week expressed expectation that the newly elected UN Human Rights Council will grant a "truly open space" for NGO participation on behalf of victims of human rights violations, as well as address the shortcomings of its predecessor and bring to completion pending issues, particularly in the field of standard-setting initiatives.

"Ecumenical cooperation in evangelism should regain a high and visible priority" in the World Council of Churches (WCC), said a group of mission specialists  participating in a seminar held at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey from 6-12 June.

Former top United Nations weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix, now the chair of The Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC), is scheduled to present the WMDC's report at the World Council of Churches (WCC) during a ceremony at the Ecumenical Centre on Thursday evening 15 June 2006.

Recent years have seen a slowdown and stalemate in the fields of non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament of weapons of mass destruction and in 2003, former top United Nations weapons inspector Dr Hans Blix was invited to set up and chair The Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC).Â