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The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee recently issued a statement expressing concern over the escalation of violence in Tanah Papua, Indonesia. They urged the Indonesian authorities to stop the killings of civilians at the hands of armed forces and protect the rights of Papuan people.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee issued a statement expressing concern over the disappearance of asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa and northern Africa, falling prey to human traffickers in the Sinai desert while crossing borders between Egypt and Israel.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) congratulates Palestinian Lutheran pastor Rev. Dr Mitri Raheb on receiving the 2011 “Deutscher Medienpreis” (German Media Prize). The award recognizes his individual work and Palestinian churches’ efforts for peace.

The members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee have sent a pastoral message to the churches in Syria extending solidarity as they face enormous challenges due to the ongoing violence in the country.

“Ecumenism is a quality of life that needs to be articulated in all aspects of a Christian’s life”, and “conciliarity is an essential nature of the church,” said Catholicos Aram I, head of the Holy See of Cilicia of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He was speaking to the audience at the World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation in Beirut, Lebanon.

With the help of participants from several regions of the world a World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation recently looked at Christian self-understanding in the context of indigenous spiritual traditions.

A consultation on world peace and human security was convened by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Geneva on Thursday 9 February. The event precedes a two-day committee meeting charged with following up the report and recommendations of the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation, which brought 1,000 participants to Kingston, Jamaica in May 2011.

The key role played by young people during the transformations in the Arab world throughout the past year was a recurrent theme for the recent World Council of Churches (WCC) Christian-Muslim consultation on “Christian Presence and Witness in the Arab World”.

Amidst increasing security issues in several African countries plagued by violence, political turmoil, religious intolerance and lack of democratic governance, churches are called to engage in peace-building, said African church leaders in a presentation on

A World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation in Kigali discussed peace and security issues in Africa, with more than ninety church and ecumenical leaders. Together, they also reflected on Rwandan experiences of ethnic violence, genocide and church initiatives of reconciliation in the past.

How is Christian identity defined today? What is the relationship between Christian identity, spirituality, religious plurality and Christian-self understanding? Rev. Carlos Emilio Ham addressed these and other questions at the International Union of Superiors General’s (UISG) Assembly of the Constellation of Rome, on 12 January.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit reaffirmed churches’ commitment to justice and peace in the Middle East, while stressing the importance of a common vision for living together by Christians and Muslims in the Arab world.

Representatives of a broad range of Christian churches and organizations met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 14 to 19 January to complete a report and make recommendations for significant advances toward Christian unity and inter-religious cooperation.

Methodist Archbishop Michael Kehinde Stephen of Ibadan, Nigeria has appealed to Christian and Muslim leaders worldwide to act together in the face of extremist violence that threatens to divide Nigerians along religious lines.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed deep sadness over the current wave of violence in Nigeria, calling on the churches to pray for the victims, and asking the Nigerian president to support solidarity efforts for peace by both Christians and Muslims in the country.

Rev. Dr Nyambura Njoroge is always reminding herself of the daily lives of people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa. Their battle for dignity and enormous resilience keeps inspiring her while she coordinates World Council of Churches Ecumenical HIV and AIDS Initiative for Africa (EHAIA).

The dignity of work and workers is a common value among the faith traditions. It is also the focus of a policy handbook titled Convergences: Decent Work and Social Justice in Religious Traditions , for which the World Council of Churches (WCC) has collaborated with the International Labour Organization (ILO) .

On behalf of the member churches, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed deep sorrow over the passing away of Rev. Kang Young-sup on 21 Januray, a great Christian leader, whose efforts for the reunification of the Korean peninsula have been significant throughout his life.

"€œChurches should not shy away from discussing health issues. The more we remain in denial, the more we end up promoting a culture of silence," said Dr Sr Elizabeth Vadakekara from India, representing the Medical Mission Sisters in London.