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Within the framework of the negotiations and conversations of the third cycle of the Peace Dialogue Table between the government of Colombia and the Estado Mayor Central FARC-EP, the news was received on its fourth day of sessions that President Petro approved Decree 0016 of 14 January 2024, which it extends the ceasefire with the EMC FARC-EP for six more months.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met in Bogota, Colombia, with representatives of embassies of Switzerland, Norway, Germany, and the diplomatic service of the European Union for a conversation on the role of the international community in the peace process in the country.

A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is visiting Colombia, conveying a message of the WCC’s commitment to accompanying and supporting the nation’s peace processes.

With a historic show of unity, Ethiopian churches meeting at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey made the decision to establish a council of churches in their country.

A Global Peace Prayer on 22 March will draw Christians together in hope for a better future. A communique from a prayer planning committee explained that Christians are called into prayer and advocacy for peace. “In a global context where war and violence abound, the practice of peace has become even more urgent,” reads the message.

Sanctions should not harm the support for the most vulnerable, says a report on the impact of sanctions on humanitarian work presented at a side-event of 52nd session at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva on 10 March.

In a 13 July letter to the United Nations Security Council, the Diálogo Intereclesial por la Paz en Colombia (DiPaz), an interchurch platform for dialogue for peace in Colombia, called on the international community to urge the Colombian government to resume the full implementation of the peace agreement and strengthen channels of dialogue to resolve societal issues.

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca led a prayer for love, peace and kindness for the nation of Ethiopia during a service at the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York on 19 June.

In a pastoral letter to “sisters and brothers in Ethiopia,” eight faith-based organizations expressed Christian love and care, as well as a commitment to accompany churches and people of Ethiopia as they face the challenges confronting their country.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), received former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva, at the Ecumenical Centre on 6 March, in Geneva, Switzerland.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) offers its congratulations to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as Nobel Peace Prize laureate 2019. Since his election as Prime Minister in April 2018, Mr Ahmed has championed an impressive programme of positive and inspiring reform initiatives, and played a decisive role in the reconciliation of the two synods and fostered unity of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The achievement which this award particularly recognizes is his leadership in bringing an formal end to the twenty-year long fratricidal conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Dr. Nigussu Legesse shared in the joy a year ago when the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church declared an end to a 27-year-old schism that had torn it apart. That rapprochement set in motion a series of events that are taking him back to his homeland.
Legesse was then World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive and convener for Africa.
After more than 10 years at the council, he is moving back to Addis Ababa as executive director of the Consortium of Christian Relief and Development Associations.

“We express our deepest concern with regard to the search for peace in Colombia, and we call upon the Colombian government and all armed actors to refrain from targeting social leaders and communities in conflict zones”, said Rev. Frank Chikane, moderator of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), in light of the recent killings of social leaders in Micoahumado, South Bolivar, and elsewhere around the country.

“As Christians, we are called every day to generously practice hospitality”, said Bishop Samuel Aguilar, from the Methodist Church of Peru, as he lamented cases of xenophobia, discrimination and violence suffered by thousands of Venezuelans in different parts of Latin America.