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At the annual Karlsruhe Foyer Church and Law reception on 15 June, German bishops gathered with judges of the Federal Constitutional Court and Federal Court of Justice, as well as representatives of the Federal Prosecutor's Office and of the legal profession in Germany, to hear some reflections on “Ecumenical engagement for human rights, and current challenges.”

Church leaders from across the world are expressing their grave concern over the government of Israel’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed great hopes for the success of the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which has begun its work this week.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) made a positive impact at the 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, held 24 June through 12 July.

The WCC has a long history of engagement with the United Nations human rights system, in witnessing and advocating for human dignity and justice on behalf of the worldwide ecumenical movement.

At a meeting in Harare on Tuesday this week, church and civil society leaders in Zimbabwe strongly rejected all forms of violence and urgently called upon the state to restore the rule of law and constitutionalism in the exercise of state power.

After important parliamentary and presidential elections this week in Zimbabwe, followed by deadly violence in the capital city of Harare, the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has recognized the conclusions of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, supported careful review of the polling results and urged patient efforts at national reconciliation.

On March 24, Argentina commemorated the 40th anniversary of the military coup that lasted until 1983 and constituted a deep trauma in Argentina’s national history. Local member churches of the WCC and ecumenical organizations expressed their solidarity with the victims and stressed the importance of keeping the memory alive.

On 23 March, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, expressed his concern about the current social and political turmoil in Brazil, calling upon Christian churches and all sectors of Brazilian society “to uphold democratic principles, to respect fundamental human rights, and to ensure freedom of expression and opinion for all”.

Rev. Kakule Molo, president of the Baptist Community in Central Africa, reflected on the rule of law and the electoral process in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a side-event at the 30th Session of the Human Rights Council on 16 September in Geneva, Switzerland.

A court decision in the Dominican Republic annulling the citizenship of an estimated 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian ancestry has been strongly criticized by church leaders, including the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.

The WCC has expressed “great concern” over the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) judgment in the case of Perinçek v. Switzerland, recalling that the Swiss National Council and the Federal Tribunal in the past have clearly recognized the Armenian genocide as a historical fact.

With Zimbabwe and other African nations heading for elections in the coming months, churches in the region recently reflected on their role in strengthening democratic governance and electoral process.

“Sixteen years after the signing of the peace accord in 1996, Guatemala is still struggling to overcome wide ranging issues that put the economic, political and social wellbeing of the country at risk,” noted a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation visiting Guatemala from 27 to 29 November.

By Naveen Qayyum (*)