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A consultation organized by the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the World Council of Churches (WCC) called for the church to become involved in wider advocacy initiatives to protect rights of the stateless people.

At the significant event of the 10th General Assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), Christians in the Middle East renewed their commitment to unity, dialogue and peace amidst varied political developments in the region, as well as elected a new general secretary.

By George Arende (*)

An ecumenical delegation visited Ivory Coast from 28 November to 4 December 2011 and met with churches and civil society representatives to express solidarity amidst violence and political turmoil in the country.

A communiqu

In a statement read on 9 December to government members from around the world at the United Nations climate summit in Durban, South Africa, the World Council of Churches (WCC) reaffirmed the need for a fair, ambitious and binding treaty to effectively address climate change effects on vulnerable communities.

The shock expressed by members of a rural congregation when offered an opportunity for voluntary HIV testing and counselling, and other similar experiences have taught Pauline Wanjiru Njiru that it is not the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that kills people, but fear, stigma and ignorance.

Thirty participants including migration activists, leaders of migrant churches and representatives of ecumenical organizations from Africa, Europe and the Middle East are currently seeking an ecumenical response to migration at a World Council of Churches (WCC) conference in Beirut, Lebanon.

An international study process developed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) is preparing a report on freedom of religion as a fundamental human right for all.

Violence against women is endemic both in conflict zones and so called peaceful situations. According to a study conducted by the University of Lausanne, in Switzerland, more than 26 percent of women there experience physical violence throughout their adult life. In a country of a similar size but with fewer economic opportunities such as the Dominican Republic, every 36 hours a woman is killed by her partner or husband.

In a presentation to a gathering of experts on religious freedom and religious rights of minorities, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said there must be respect for the

Around 214 million people in the world are on the move, seeking livelihood and security outside their home countries. To address this global phenomenon of multi-directional migration, and respond to the political, economic, ethical and ecclesiological challenges it poses, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is organizing a regional conference in Lebanon from 5-7 December.

The first draft of a new mission statement for the World Council of Churches (WCC) was at the centre of a 5-day meeting recently held by the 25-member Commission for World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) on the campus of the University of Ghana near Accra.

Two international actions to curb the potential use of cluster bombs and nuclear weapons have been welcomed by the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

Churches in Canada addressed challenging questions, with a strong interfaith perspective, while responding to the document “Christian Witness in a Multi-Religious World: Guidelines for Conduct” in an event held at the University of Toronto on 22 November.

More than forty participants from diverse Christian backgrounds gathered in Brazil, coming from several Latin American countries sought dynamic ways of ecumenical formation of diaconal work at a “Latin American Formation Seminar on Diakonia” which took place from 21-24 November.

“This is the only home we have,” said Archbishop Desmond Tutu referring to the crucial significance of our planet and its survival. He was speaking in an interfaith rally in Durban, urging the United Nations conference on climate change (COP17) to deliver a fair, ambitious and binding treaty to address climate change effectively.

“We must continue to express our prophetic vision by reporting violation of human rights in God’s creation" said Rev. Nilton Giese, general secretary of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), adding, “we must continue to dedicate ourselves to the task of theological and pastoral capacity building, inspired by prophetic and evangelical principles.”

While staff of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and sister organizations such as the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) are preparing for the COP17 meeting for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Durban, South Africa next week, the ecumenical community in Brazil is starting to think about 2012 when the UN conference Rio+20 will assess the outcomes of the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).