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As a year of exceptional and increasing conflict draws to a close, and as we pray for peace for all in 2024, “that prospect seems nowhere more remote than for the suffering and traumatized people of Gaza,” said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met in Bogota, Colombia, with representatives of embassies of Switzerland, Norway, Germany, and the diplomatic service of the European Union for a conversation on the role of the international community in the peace process in the country.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with Colombian minister of the interior Luis Fernando Velasco on 13 December in Bogota to talk about the government's efforts to seek social, economic, and environmental justice.

His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed an assembly of religious leaders gathered at the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Centre on 12 December—the day before the opening of the Global Refugee Forum. 

In a message to the Global Refugee Forum released 12 December, faith-based leaders underscored their commitment to offering sanctuary for refugees as well defending their human rights. 

Sharing hopes and challenges for the search for peace on the Korean peninsula, members of the Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification & Development on the Korean Peninsula (EFK) gathered for an informal meeting this week.

An online event hosted by Arigatou International, UNICEF, the World Council of Churches (WCC), and other partners lifted up young voices on the World Day of Prayer and Action for Children 2023—voices expressing grave concern about the impact of both war and climate change.

At a Peace Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, hosted by the United Evangelical Mission (UEM) and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), Peter Prove, director of the World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, participated as a panel speaker during a session on ““Global Challenges and Perspective for Interfaith Action” on 21 November.

In a discussion with World Council of Churches (WCC) staff, Mariela Kohon, advisor to the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace - an office that reports directly to the presidency of the Republic of Colombia - shared insights into the ongoing peace dialogues in Colombia and the important role of the WCC and faith leaders.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is condemning an attack on one of the buildings within the compound of the St Porphyrios Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza. The building—affiliated with the church, which is one the oldest churches in Gaza—has collapsed in the explosion, caused by Israeli missile strikes, according to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate.

Church leaders in the Holy Land are raising their voices in unity to call for the cessation of all violent and military activities that bring harm to both Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is postponing a planned initial roundtable dialogue meeting on Ukraine, announced WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay.

The Christian Conference of Asia 15th General Assembly, in a statement, called for prayers for true peace on the Korean Peninsula. The statement also called upon governments to refrain from provocative statements and military actions, and prayed that permanent members of the UN Security Council continue to work together for reconciliation and peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The World Council of Churches (WCC), with the Colombian Episcopal Conference, United Nations Mission in Colombia, and Organization of American States, has been appointed as a permanent accompanier for peace talks with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) FARC-EP in Colombia.