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I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

When approaching the issue of health and wellbeing, we as Christians and churches affirm that the giver and sustainer of life is our Lord Jesus Christ, the healer of our bodies and souls, the one who heals our diseases, who redeems our life from the pit and crowns us with love and compassion (Ps. 103:3-4).

It is with humble gratitude that I want to express my deep appreciation to the leadership of the central committee for their daily accompaniment and direction. Their leadership during challenging times makes a difference.

I will basically share with you thoughts from the recent visits of solidarity and engagement. First, I want to thank the executive committee very, very sincerely for your hard work.

Brothers and sisters, welcome to the Executive Committee meeting. It is a joy to see each one of you. A lot has happened both positive and not so good, since we last met at the stop in our pilgrimage together in Uppsala, Sweden; this stop for was a moment to learn and be exposed to the Swedish ecclesial landscape and we are grateful to the Church of Sweden for their support and solidarity.

Address to the Swedish Ecumenical Weekend, Uppsala, Sweden, 4 November 2018

During the centenary year of the Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire, the executive committee of the WCC is meeting in this country on 8-13 June 2015, hosted by the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, to honour the martyrs and victims of the genocide.

1. During the past years thousands of asylum seekers from the Horn of Africa and Northern Africa have disappeared in the Sinai desert region while crossing the border between Egypt and Israel. The Sinai desert is a traditional transit route for people from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Northern African countries escaping political turmoil, hunger and poverty and hoping to end up in Europe. The people of Eritrea have been facing deep political and human rights crises, due to which around 2,000 people are attempting to flee from Eritrea every month. They end up in the hands of human trafficking rackets or fall victim to organ theft. It is out of sheer desperation, in order to escape conflict, political turmoil and deteriorating human rights situations that people take such risky journeys. However, instead of safe passage to Israel, the refugees find themselves in desert detention centres in Sinai, where they are abused in the most dehumanizing manner.

The WCC affirms an arms trade treaty as a legal instrument that has three complementary tasks. It must prevent arms transfers to states where the government poses a threat to its own people or to other states. It must improve trade controls so that, where there is a high risk of re-export or diversion to organized criminals or armed groups, arms smuggling and black market sales are reduced or stopped. The ATT must also serve to protect communities and save lives.

Background paper on the status of Jerusalem presented to the Executive Committee.