Search results

Masimba Kuchera, a commissioner for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, introduced the initiative “Churches’ Commitments to Children” before the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in Mali on 28 April.

Representatives of UN agencies such as the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization have spoken of how religious communities and churches can play a key part in ending violence in early childhood.

Speaking in Stockholm, Sweden, on 14-15 February, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit addressed the End Violence Solutions Summit, part of the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children. “On behalf of the WCC, I am very pleased to announce that we commit to supporting our 348 member churches in their efforts to prevent and respond to violence against children," said Tveit.

Speaking at a reception hosted by UNICEF on 22 January, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit offered an ecumenical vision on migration, inclusion and justice.

At a meeting on 19 January, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) pledged to not only deepen their existing collaboration but also explore even more joint projects to protect and provide for children.

“Christ is born” declares a drawing by Kenyan schoolboy Richard Ochieng, whose work is featured on the WCC’s Christmas card this year.

In many ways, the World Council of Churches (WCC) pilgrimage of justice and peace hinges on protecting, advocating, and educating people about human rights. In Nigeria, a series of workshops in November promoted human rights across a number of WCC programme areas, including the Churches’ Commitments to Children, preventing gender-based violence, and engaging with the United Nations human rights system.

Celebrations with children will take place around the world on 20 November for World Children’s Day, and the World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting all to join.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has developed a platform to facilitate networking and collaboration among churches and partners in the implementation of the Churches' Commitments to Children. The digital map portrays and links the efforts of churches and partners involved in efforts to improve children’s lives.

Churches can make a huge difference in children’s lives and therefore improve the whole community, strongly believes Frederique Seidel, World Council of Churches (WCC) special advisor on children’s rights. To help the churches in their efforts in improving the wellbeing of children, WCC has published this year the invitation and resource for churches, “Churches’ Commitments to Children”.

Participating in a new World Vision campaign called “It takes a World to End Violence against Children,” World Council of Churches (WCC) deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri spoke at a Geneva-based event on 13 June, reflecting that churches and organizations working together can prevent and address “a tragic reality.”

The World Council of Churches strongly condemns the car bomb attack on evacuees in Aleppo on 15th April, in which at about 100 people are believed killed, many of them children.

Taking a major step towards church involvement in children’s wellbeing, the World Council of Churches (WCC) has recently published “Churches’ Commitments to Children”, an open invitation to WCC member churches and partners to address the needs of children as an integral part of the ecumenical commitment to the pilgrimage of justice and peace.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has accepted an invitation from the Global Partnership to End Violence Against Children to serve on the organization’s board of directors.

Religious leaders must break their silence with regard to young people and sexual reproductive health, agreed young people and theologians gathered in Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) from 6-7 September.

To help the world’s children become HIV-free, faith groups must help bring UN goals to life through strong advocacy, rapid action and unprecedented collaboration, say experts. Children must be helped onto a “Super Fast Track” to end AIDS or they will die at what Dr Stuart Kean describes as a “shocking” rate.

A plenary discussion on support by religious communities for the rights of children, and a first draft of the statement of “principles for child-friendly churches,” captured the imagination of the Central Committee of the WCC on 27 June. The document will now undergo further revision and be resubmitted at the next WCC executive committee meeting.

Some people don’t exist – on paper, that is. Indeed, millions of people are not recognized as citizens by the law of any country.

At an interfaith prayer service on 7 June, people from diverse faith communities issued a call to action to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. The call focuses on reducing stigma and discrimination; increasing access to HIV services; defending human rights; and ensuring testing and treatment for all, including children.

Women and children figure prominently as refugees in mass movements of people in recent months and their rights will be at the forefront of a summer school organized in Greece by the Conference of European Churches.