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Sanctions should not harm the support for the most vulnerable, says a report on the impact of sanctions on humanitarian work presented at a side-event of 52nd session at the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva on 10 March.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee published a statement entitled “Christian witness and action for human dignity and human rights,” in which the governing body confesses “our unfulfilled responsibilities to protect and lift up those whose God-given dignity and worth is not respected.”

The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee has appointed, by consensus, three new WCC staff leaders: a programme director for Unity and Mission; a programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia; and a director of the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism.

Bringing together biblical, theological and practical perspectives on human dignity, participants of the international conference in Wuppertal challenged churches for a common understanding and protection of human rights during the public panel discussion on 11 April.

Following the decision of the Executive Committee during its meeting of November 2021, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is posting the opening of three staff leadership positions. The openings include programme director for Unity and Mission, programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia, and director of the WCC Commission on Faith and Order.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) met on 25 August in Geneva to explore and discuss possible areas of future cooperation.

The two organizations shared current plans and discussed possibilities for closer collaboration on thematic areas such as advocacy and peace building, the climate emergency, and membership matters. 

 

South Sudanese Church leaders are appealing for urgent humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of their population, who have been left vulnerable by a mix of five crises, including floods and the COVID-19 pandemic.

World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca offered reflections on the newest encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli tutti. Subtitled “On fraternity and social friendship,” the document is the Pope’s third encyclical.

The Sant'Egidio community began a “Peace with no borders” conference in Madrid on 15 September, gathering religious leaders from all over the world to address each other on migration, the environment, dialogue and inclusion.

The latest issue of The Ecumenical Review, the quarterly journal of the World Council of Churches, opens with an article by WCC general secretary the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, “Freedom, Love and Justice,” reflecting on the theme for the WCC's 11th Assembly in 2021, “Christ's love moves the world to reconciliation and unity.”

“Inequality hurts us all and goes against God’s vision of life in abundance for every human being”, said Athena Peralta, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme executive for economic and ecological justice, at a prayer service on the occasion of the Week of Action to Fight Inequality, held at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, on 21 January.

The WCC published an open letter to media in response to the new report released by the NGO Monitor criticizing the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel.

WCC News met with the Very Reverend Archimandrite Dr Alexi Chehadeh, who leads the Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East in Damascus, Syria. He is an impressive role model and peacemaker in Syria.

Respect for the other lies at the heart of peace education and was a key thread through a debate entitled “Education for Peace in a multi-religious world”. It was held on the 2018 World Human Rights Day at the United Nations Office in Geneva.

Participants at the conference “Xenophobia, Racism and Populist Nationalism in the Context of Global Migration” released a message on 19 September that affirms and upholds the institution of asylum for those fleeing from war, persecution or natural disaster, and invokes respect for the rights for all people on the move.

The conference, held in Rome, was organized jointly by the World Council of Churches and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in collaboration with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.