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The moderator of the WCC Central Committee addressed a plenary session at the general assembly of the Latin American Council of Churches on 23 May in Havana, Cuba.

“We do not live in the mentality of the ghetto, nor in the mentality of a minority complex, nor do we live as dhimmi (dependent) people,” said Bishop Dr Munib A. Younan. “We have always been, as Arab Christians, building our societies, loyal to our countries and nationalities, bringing hope in hopeless situations.”

A leading ecumenist of the late 20th century, Rev. Dr Emilio Castro is remembered by the WCC for “his unfaltering efforts in bringing together Christian faith and spirituality with radical commitment in the struggles for justice.”

At the recent World Social Forum, ecumenical voices warned about the grave consequences of extraction of natural resources and mining, which they say generate a tremendous amount of social and ecological debt.

Dr Magali do Nascimento Cunha, a Central Committee member of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and professor at the Methodist University of São Paulo, has joined Brazil’s National Truth Commission as a researcher. The commission will investigate human rights violations in Brazil that occurred between 1948 and 1988, including the years of military dictatorship in that country.

The WCC Executive Committee has expressed deep concern about the alarming increase in threats to human security in Latin America. The committee has called for renewed efforts by churches to ensure peaceful and just societies.

Climate change is causing massive violations of human rights. This point was made at a side event on “human rights and climate change” during the 22nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

In La Paz, an ecumenical delegation delivered to Bolivian government officials a statement on ethical principles for a new global economic system. The statement was received by Bolivian minister of the presidency Juan Ramon Quintana at the government palace on 9 January.

At the World Social Forum Free Palestine, young ecumenists from Brazil made their presence felt while advocating for peace in the Holy Land.

It might seem like a trivial task to help with the logistical arrangements of a major meeting. However, for the “stewards” of the WCC, this task means more than merely helping out.

Substantial information on torture and other human rights abuses was entrusted to the Brazilian attorney general at a ceremony in São Paulo on 14 June 2011. There was also a call for a national truth commission in Brazil to shed more light on past atrocities during the ceremony.

During a two-decade period of brutal dictatorship, in 1979, Brazilian church workers and dissenting lawyers found a loophole in the legal system allowing them to gather evidence of atrocities and other abuses committed by the military regime.