World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expresses deep shock over recent attacks in North Darfur, Sudan, particularly the assaults on displacement camps in Zamzam and Abu Shouk, and the town of El Fasher.
At the beginning of the Holy Week of Easter, on 13 April, the celebration of Palm Sunday in the Ukrainian city of Sumy was transformed into a day of lamentation, by yet another Russian missile attack.
As nearly 500 people gathered in-person and online for the 11th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs, they spoke of “finding the sun”—a symbol of a future that is both possible and profoundly just—together.
In a letter to His Honour Justice Moon Hyung-bae, acting president of the Constitutional Court of Korea, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay reiterated the WCC’s advocacy for the rule of law as a key constraint on abuses of political or economic power.
This year, the 69th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women gathered to review the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, marking 30 years since its creation. I had the pleasure of attending as part of the WCC delegation, and have left with an overwhelming feeling of “our work is only just beginning.”
The World Council of Churches (WCC), in collaboration with UN agencies and interfaith partners, invites global faith-based actors, civil society leaders, policymakers, and international affairs experts to register for the 11th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs, to be held on hybrid mode in New York City on 3 April.
A delegation led by the World Council of Churches (WCC) is participating in the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, being held from 10–21 March at the United Nations in New York City.
More than 107 faith-based groups—including the World Council of Churches—released a joint statement on 5 March entitled “Joint Interfaith Statement to the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
The World Council of Churches (WCC) submitted a comment on 21 February to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the court’s draft policy on environmental crimes.
As 24 February marks the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay noted with sadness that the war continues without any immediate signs of an end.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) had key participation in a meeting of the leadership of the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD), which took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, on 4-6 February 2025.
The Universal Periodic Review—a mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council that calls for each UN Member State to undergo a peer review of its human rights records every 5 years—of Angola and Madagascar took place on 23 and 27 January.
In an address before the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 27 January, His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew spoke of how religion can provide a unique perspective in the objective to eradicate poverty and hunger, to address fundamentalism and racism, and to advance tolerance and dialogue.
A World Council of Churches (WCC) staff visit took place from 12-21 January, aimed at empowering faith communities in Jamaica to take action on sexual and gender-based violence, racism, reparations, and climate justice.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay has warmly welcomed President Biden’s decision of 14 January to remove Cuba from a list maintained by the U.S. Department of State that designates countries accused of supporting terrorism.
A WCC staff visit will take place from 12-21 January, aimed at empowering faith communities in Jamaica to take action on sexual and gender-based violence, racism, reparations, and climate justice.
Peter Prove, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, offered a reflection at the 5th Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide, held 12-13 December in Yerevan, Armenia.
The 11th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs will take place on 3 April 2025, in New York City, exploring the vital role of faith-based organizations and civil society in shaping multilateral solutions to global crises.