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From 15-20 September, about 40 Ecumenical Officers of member churches from all over the world spent four days discussing and sharing common issues at the Ecumenical Institute in Bossey and the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

“This is another sign of hope from Colombia to the whole world”, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) after the announcement that the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) have agreed to a temporary ceasefire.

"Since 1983 Argentina is enjoying the longest period of democracy in our history – it is a great achievement and that is why we need to take care of it." Pride in the peaceful change from military dictatorship to democracy 35 years ago and concern over recent developments in her country was the message that Estela Barnes de Carlotto brought with her to a meeting in Geneva reinvigorating the friendship between the WCC and the Association of the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, of which she is the president.

More than 30 young adults coming from different countries in Latin America and the Caribbean will gather in Colombia to reflect and plan actions on eco-justice and peace building. “Young people for Eco-Justice and Peace: The challenge that we accept” will be organized by the World Student Christian Federation in Latin America and the Caribbean (WSCF – LAC), a partner of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in Barranquilla, from 15-18 August.

Friday evening when the leaders of the G20 states will be meeting in Hamburg and discussing global economic, social, environmental and political issues, the churches in Germany are inviting people in Germany and all over the world to a common peace prayer.

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, sent a letter of condolences to the Methodist Church in Uruguay on the passing of Rev. Oscar Bolioli, on 18 June.

Some 40 participants, coming mainly from Latin American countries, attended a consultation promoted by the WCC entitled “Together Towards Life: Mission in the 21st Century”, from 30 April – 4 May, in Rosario, Argentina.

The World Council of Churches Ecumenical Water Network (WCC-EWN) hosted the Brazilian Semiarid Articulation (ASA) on 25 April for a dialogue on human rights and water justice in Brazil. Representatives of the EWN and the ASA discussed human rights within the framework of the right to water, and they also focused on alternatives for sustainable living offered by ASA.

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), received former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at the Ecumenical Centre on 10 March, in Geneva, Switzerland.

“WCC notes the concern expressed by Movimiento Ecuménico por los Derechos Humanos (MEDH) and many other civil society organizations in Argentina that Milagro Sala, a prominent political activist, social and indigenous leader, is being arbitrarily detained because of her activism, though other charges are laid against her”, wrote Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), in a letter on 16 December, to the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina (IEMA), in support of MEDH in its claim regarding Sala.

“The Nobel Peace Prize awarded today to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is a sign of hope and encouragement on the path to peace, and towards the end of the 52-year-long conflict”, said Mr. Peter Prove, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), commenting on the announcement of the award by the Norwegian Nobel Committee earlier today.

Faith-based organizations and religious leaders must be included in efforts to address the challenges of human trafficking and forced migration, representatives of the United Nations, international organizations, Member States and civil society have said.

"The people of Colombia need and deserve peace, particularly now", said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, commenting on the outcome of the referendum held in Colombia on 2 October.

“The remarkable development to overcome poverty in Brazil has been an inspiration for many others, and it is extremely important that justice for the poor continues to be on the agenda for the leadership of Brazil”, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC. Tveit has been in São Paulo, Brazil, from 7 – 9 September, attending the Pentecostal World Conference and meeting local church leaders.

“We all sin against the Holy Spirit if we ignore climate change”, said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, during the opening day of the 24th Pentecostal World Conference, in São Paulo, Brazil, on 7 September. “We have to remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit is the life-giver, active in creation from the very beginning till today. The Holy Spirit sustain us and all creatures every day”, he said.

“Water, food and climate justice are key to a sustainable future.” This was one of the key messages from the WCC Ecumenical Water Network at the recent general assembly of the Council of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin America, in Sao Paolo, Brazil, in mid-August. As part of its work on climate change and access to safe drinking water, AIPRAL released a new pedagogical tool at the assembly: the book “We are on Time”.

It was with sadness that WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit received the news of the passing of Rev. Juan Abelardo Schvindt of the Evengelical Church of the River Plate (IERP), on 23 August.

“Peace is not just a ceasefire. Peace is not just the silencing of arms. Peace is education. Peace is figuring out how to coexist and how to build together.”

As many in the world observed and cheered the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, church leaders spoke out in support of the Olympic refugee team and the place of public honor it offered for refugees competing in the games.