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Within the pages of this Programme Book are several key texts and documents for delegates and other participants attending the Ninth Assembly of the WCC in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from 14 to 23 February 2006.

This text is the outcome of more than eight years of study and consultation on the "common understanding and vision of the World Council of Churches", mandated by the WCC Central Committee at its meeting in 1989. Between the Seventh Assembly of the WCC in 1991 and the Eighth Assembly in 1998, this subject was continuously on the agenda of the WCC central committee; in addition, it was extensively discussed in meetings of WCC commissions, advisory bodies and staff. Insights were sought and received from WCC member churches, other churches and a broad range of ecumenical partners, as well as many individual participants in and students of the ecumenical movement.

"Final report of the Special Commission on Orthodox participation in the WCC" : The 60-member Special Commission was created by the WCC's eighth assembly in 1998 in response to mainly Orthodox concerns about participation in the Council. Composed of an equal number of representatives from Orthodox churches and from the other churches belonging to the WCC, the Commission submitted its final report to the central committee in September 2002.

These guidelines - covering the roles of moderators, delegates and participants; setting the agenda; making decisions by consensus and by formal vote; election process; language and other elements - apply to the Assembly and to meetings of all bodies of the WCC.

At the mid-point of the 2001-2010 Ecumenical Decade to Overcome Violence, this background document raises questions that may allow an interim assessment and points to the course that might be followed during the remaining five years of the Decade.

The WCC's constitution identifies the basis for, and the principles of membership, the purposes and functions, authority, and organization of the Council. Its rules give precise guidance concerning the roles, responsibilities and structure of the Council's various governing bodies, officers, committees, staff and partner organizations, the role of public statements, and the conduct of meetings. The constitution and rules will be submitted to the Assembly for amendment.

Open letter by the CCIA director on political upheaval following the contested Ethiopian election of 15 May 2005

As part of the WCC's work on the Decade , this theological consultation, organized by WCC Faith and Order in Kigali, Rwanda (4-9 December 2004), was an attempt to discern what human dignity, rights of peoples and the integrity of creation mean for churches and the ecumenical movement as they attempt to counter the reality of massive abuse and destruction of life and its legitimization in the world today. It was also an attempt to do theology informed by the perspectives and experiences of the victims of violence.

Study document adopted by the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME), 2000. Published in: IRMJan/April 1999, pp.109-127.

The present document has been prepared by a multicultural and interdenominational group of missiologists, medical doctors and health professionals. It builds upon the tradition of the WCC's Christian Medical Commission (CMC) and its most fruitful contribution to an understanding of the healing ministry of the church. This document does not repeat what remains well formulated in earlier texts of the World Council of Churches, such as the document "Healing and Wholeness. The churches' Role in Health", adopted in 1990 by the Central Committee.

Table of contents:
Introduction
Minute on economic measures for peace in Israel/Palestine
Human rights and languages of indigenous peoples
Countries affected by the tsunami
International Criminal Court
Detainees held at Guantanamo Bay
Iraq crisis: enhancing peace, accountability and the rule of law
Practising hospitality in an era of new forms of migration