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To say no to all kinds of excuses that justify violence against women and girls, the WCC invites its member churches and partners to join the World YWCA campaign “NoXcuses for Violence against Women”.

Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, associate and acting general secretary of the WCC, has expressed solidarity with those seeking justice for women who suffered from sexual slavery imposed by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

Bishop Eva Brunne from Stockholm is one of three Swedes on the Central Committee of the WCC, which met in Geneva 2-8 July. “The Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace” became the central focus of the Committee’s work.

Inspired by the theme “pilgrimage of justice and peace”, the Central Committee of the WCC, a chief governing body of the Council, has set directions for the work of the Council from 2014 to 2017.

Sexual slavery, resistance and women’s demand for justice were the focus of a recent event hosted by the WCC in Geneva, Switzerland, featuring representatives of the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.

Justice and peace are not possible without the involvement and participation of women. To accomplish this vision the United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1325 can be an important negotiation tool for religious women's on-going work for conflict resolution and peace-building around the world.

Early struggles in developing a response to the HIV and AIDS pandemic were remembered by African women church leaders who gathered in Nairobi, Kenya to celebrate more than 30 years of their Christian ministry in the churches of their region.

Women from churches across Africa have gathered in Kenya to focus on the achievements, challenges and opportunities of women's ministry in African churches over the past 30 years, as well as their responses to the HIV and AIDS pandemic.

The WCC general secretary extended greetings from the worldwide fellowship of churches to Archbishop Dr Antje Jackelén at her inauguration. Jackelén, born 1955 in Germany, was ordained in the Church of Sweden in 1980, and elected to be Sweden's first female archbishop in October 2013.

Religion is a double-edged sword for women healing from violence and trauma, yet they find their way out of pain in amazing ways, say two scholars whose work investigates and analyses this.

A court sentence in Sudan ordering flogging and the death penalty for Mariam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag has prompted an expression of “profound concern” from Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, who has urged President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir to “prevent the implementation of this unjust and unconscionable sentence.”

The abduction of more than 250 young women by the Boko Haram fighters in Nigeria has prompted “profound concern” from the WCC, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit. In his letter to Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, Tveit encouraged “swift and peaceful” action to restore these students back to their homes.

With participation from the WCC, the 2014 United Methodist Women (UMW) Assembly concluded on Sunday 27 April, marking highlights of women’s contributions to the life of the churches, communities and societies, addressing the theme “Make it Happen”. Among the speakers at the assembly was former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a UMW member.

An “inter-generational dialogue on faith, culture, HIV and sexual reproductive health and rights” was initiated on 11 March in New York City by the World YWCA in partnership with the WCC and other international organizations. The dialogue was organized as a side event at the United Nations 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

During 2014 the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey will be holding a number of seminars raising awareness on issues related to women’s concerns, justice and peace, ecology and Christian theology, interfaith relations and migrant churches.

In one of their first decisions as the Central Committee for the World Council of Churches, the 150-member committee made history Friday by electing Dr Agnes Abuom of Nariobi, Kenya as the moderator of the highest WCC governing body.

“Blessed are the peace makers” is the proclamation in Matthew 5:9. Today the WCC 10th Assembly featured Leymah Gbowee as one of the key speakers at the Peace Plenary, which featured stories, images and signs of hope from God leading toward justice and peace.

Lit with bright lights and adorned with colourful paintings on the walls, the Raham Centre run by the Gimhae Presbyterian Church in South Korea looks like a day-care centre for children. However, the name Raham, which literally means “womb of a woman” or “womb of God” in the Hebrew language, has deep implications for the work of the centre with the purpose of supporting “migrant wives” in Gimhae.

The WCC has devoted 60 years of active commitment to gender justice. The WCC 10th Assembly being held in Busan, Republic of Korea is continuing the campaign for advocacy for gender justice. The WCC, in partnership with Korean women, has designed an encounter space – Umulga SHe-Space in the Madang exhibition hall at the WCC assembly.

Participants from across the ecumenical membership of the WCC gathered from 28 to 29 October for a Women and Men’s Pre-assembly programme preceding the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea. The WCC has had a long tradition and commitment to gender justice and advocacy for a just community of women and men in church and society, a commitment which began at the first WCC assembly in 1948.