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By Maurice Malanes (*)

"So far is just a signature, now they have to walk the talk", says Munib Younan, the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, commenting on the results of the Annapolis Middle East conference hosted by the US administration on 27 November. Cautiously optimistic, he adds: "I do hope this is a serious attempt to achieve a lasting peace."

Good faith, multilateral participation and adherence to the rule of law are essential if the Annapolis Middle East Conference starting Tuesday, 27 November, is to be a success, WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia writes to Condoleezza Rice, Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas.

In face of what he called "escalating human rights violations," the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia announced stronger ecumenical advocacy efforts to bring the Philippines under international scrutiny.

By Maurice Malanes (*)

The global ecumenical family's concern about the growing human rights violations in the Philippines will be a major focus of the 18-21 November visit to the country by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia.

The United Nations and the World Council of Churches (WCC) have reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate at a meeting between the general secretaries of both organizations held on 29 October at the UN headquarters in New York.

At a high-profile interfaith dialogue for peace in Naples, Italy, earlier this week, gathered religious and political leaders and intellectuals from five continents. The event which was called "For a world without violence" was organized by the Catholic community of Sant'Egidio and included a eucharistic celebration conducted by Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday, 21 October.

By Jerry Hames (*)

There is an "international responsibility to protect people at risk in the Darfur region of Sudan and in neighbouring Chad," affirmed the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee, calling upon the Council's member churches to bring that responsibility "to the attention of their governments".

The members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) have been asked to engage "their own governments over the need to break the international silence on the humanitarian crisis in Iraq and provide greater assistance to displaced and refugee Iraqis".

The US and its allies must "settle the dispute over Iran's nuclear programme through negotiations and not through the use of military force," stated the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee at its 25-28 September meeting in Etchmiadzin, Armenia.

Measures implemented by the Philippine government in regard to extrajudicial killings in the country will not prevent these, affirmed the World Council of Churches (WCC) at the UN Human Rights Council's 6th session held in Geneva from 10-28 September 2007.

In an effort to promote dialogue as an alternative to a possible military confrontation between Iran and the United States, the World Council of Churches (WCC) co-sponsored a discussion between Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and nearly 140 people of faith from across the United States.

The bloody conflict in Northern Ireland, the crimes committed under the apartheid regime in South Africa and under communist rule in eastern Germany, mass killings perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia or by the Guatemalan military during a 35 year long civil war: the diverse cases of these nations and their struggles to cope with the legacies of massive human rights violations are at the heart of the 1-4 October ecumenical consultation "Healing of Memories - Reconciling Communities" in Dublin, Ireland, co-organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Irish School of Ecumenics.

By Jerry Hames (*)

By Jerry Hames (*)

Church leaders and communities facing situations of violence in New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New Orleans will share their experiences with an international ecumenical team visiting the United States from 15-23 September. Being from South Africa, Lebanon, Pakistan and Brazil the team members will express the solidarity of churches worldwide with the US churches while learning from their peacemaking efforts concerning urban and gun violence as well as the Iraq war and community peace building.

By Anto Akkara (*)

Kobia's letter was addressed to the general secretary of the National Council of Churches in Korea Rev. Kwon Oh-sung as the 19 remaining South Korean hostages, freed by the Taliban on Wednesday and Thursday after six weeks in captivity, were leaving Kabul for Dubai on Friday, 31 August. In his message, Kobia also conveys the assurance of "continued prayer and concern on the part of Christians in every part of the world" to the "families and friends of the two hostages who lost their lives". The WCC general secretary met with relatives of the hostages on his recent visit to South Korea. He had earlier invited the Council's member churches to pray for "a peaceful end" to the crisis and the release of the hostages. Letter to the general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Korea: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=4136 See also our previous press releases: - meeting with the hostages' families: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/all-news-english/displ… - call to pray: http://www.oikoumene.org/en/news/news-management/all-news-english/displ…