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Forty years after the Soweto uprising, leaders of churches in conflict-torn countries gathered in South Africa to study the ways of peace and reconciliation.

On his way to a Peace-building and Reconciliation Consultation in Johannesburg, the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary stopped off to visit South African Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu.

WCC general secretary, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, went to Cape Town to talk with Archbishop Emeritus Tutu, the former leader of the Anglican church during the turbulent apartheid days.

“Recognizing Colombia’s ownership of the implementation of the Final Peace Agreement,” the UN Security Council decided on 25 January to establish a 12-month political mission of unarmed international observers, responsible for the monitoring and verification of the laying down of arms in the country.

“Reconociendo la responsabilidad de Colombia en la aplicación del Acuerdo Final de Paz”, el Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas decidió establecer una misión política de 12 meses integrada por observadores internacionales desarmados, que se encargará de vigilar y verificar la dejación de las armas en el país.

During the 4th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights, the WCC, in collaboration with the ACT Alliance and Lutheran World Federation, organized a side-event on “Faith-based organizations’ contribution to the protection of communities’ land rights: lessons learnt and good practices from Africa, Asia and Latin America” at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

Durante el cuarto Foro de las Naciones Unidas sobre las Empresas y los Derechos Humanos, el CMI en colaboración con ACT Alianza y la Federación Luterana Mundial, organizó un evento sobre “La contribución de las organizaciones religiosas a la protección de los derechos de las comunidades sobre las tierras: lecciones aprendidas y buenas prácticas de África, Asia y América Latina”.

“Climate changes can only be addressed in a fair and sustainable way if it is proper dynamic between the care for the environment and the need for more justice,” said the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit at an event in Colombia. “Neither in the North nor in the South can the challenges for the globe and the one humanity be seen primarily only from one of these perspectives,” he added.

In the wake of recent crisis with the refugees in Europe, it is “absolutely and critically necessary that all European states take their proper responsibility in terms of reception and support for people seeking refuge, safety and a better future for themselves and their families. This cannot be left only to the states where they enter first,” says the WCC general secretary.

“Join the pilgrimage of justice and peace! Stand up for the creation that is threatened, for justice and peace, so that people may gain hope so that life will flourish. The most severe threat to basic human rights here in the next decades will be the dramatic effects of climate change. This is what eco-justice means.” This was a message the WCC general secretary conveyed at a public event of the Argentina Chancellery.

“¡Únanse a la peregrinación de justicia y paz! Defiendan la Creación que está amenazada, luchen por la justicia y la paz, para que la gente recupere la esperanza y prospere la vida”. Este fue el mensaje del Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit en un acto público de la Cancillería Argentina.

To strengthen relationships and support churches in Latin America in their struggles for justice and peace, a pilgrimage of church leaders organized by the WCC will visit Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Colombia from 24 August to 7 September.

Announcement of the Rev. Milton Mejía as the new general secretary of the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI) was greeted by the WCC general secretary as “an expressive gesture of care for the treasure of ecumenical witness.”

The role of faith in promoting women’s human rights was the focus of an ecumenical training session held in Geneva, Switzerland, for representatives of faith-based organizations.

An independent commission on international tax reform initiated by a coalition of organizations including the WCC is calling for an overhaul of the global taxation system to alleviate poverty in developing nations including the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Una comisión internacional sobre la reforma tributaria internacional fundada por una coalición de organizaciones, de la que forma parte el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), ha hecho un llamamiento para que se modifique el sistema tributario internacional para reducir la pobreza en los países en desarrollo, y especialmente en la República Democrática del Congo (RDC).

Dr Fulata Mbano-Moyo, the WCC programme executive for Women in Church and Society, called on the movement of Christian students to reclaim its radical transforming nature towards a “pilgrimage of gender justice”.

Serious death threats to human rights defenders, many of them church leaders, have been made by a paramilitary group in Colombia. The WCC, among other international organizations has called on Colombian government to protect their lives.

Serias amenazas de muerte dirigidas a defensores de los derechos humanos, muchos de ellos líderes de iglesias, han sido lanzadas por un grupo paramilitar en Colombia.

Care for creation and affirmation of faith values in addressing the impact of climate change were highlighted in a number of initiatives organized by members of the WCC in Lima, Peru. The capital is hosting the 20th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The adverse impact of business activities on the lives of members of the local population in Colombia and El Salvador was highlighted by the WCC-sponsored participants at the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights.