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The World Council of Churches (WCC) observed the International Day of Human Fraternity on 4 February, emphasizing the significance and value of unity among our one human family.

A senior African church humanitarian official is calling for joint efforts to meet the growing humanitarian challenge in Tigray, the region in northern Ethiopia.

Convening online on 14 January, members and supporters of the Ecumenical Forum for Peace, Reunification and Cooperation on the Korean Peninsula recalled the initiatives undertaken during 2020 despite the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and reflected on the implications of a changing global context for efforts for peace.

In a communiqué released 11 January, the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon condemned forcefully and unequivocally all those who perpetrate violence in the nation. “Violence will never win, but justice and peace will,” reads the text. “The prevalence of these gruesome and inhuman acts on Cameroonians indicates that this cycle of violence is in no way near the end.”

World Council of Churches, World Jewish Congress present paper inviting religious leaders to reflect, engage on ethical issues related to global vaccine distribution.

In a series of workshops in Iraq, the role of education in promoting social cohesion and sustainable peace was discussed by education experts, representatives of government and of different ethnic groups, as well as Iraqi religious and community leaders.

The fruits of an intergenerational, international dialogue have been published as a "Statement on Faith in Action for Children: Taking Action Together for Children in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond.”

During an intergenerational, international dialogue on 19 November, World Council of Churches deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri spoke on poverty in the context of COVID-19, and how it relates to sustainability, climate change and the use of natural resources.

The WCC executive committee released a statement lifting up in prayer the people and churches of Ethiopia.

World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed horror at the news of a brutal attack on schoolchildren at the Mother Francisca International Academy in Kumba, Cameroon, on 24 October. Unidentified gunmen killed at least eight children in their classroom with guns and machetes, while 12 others were injured.

World Council of Churches interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed deep concern about the violations of the humanitarian ceasefire agreed between Armenia and Azerbaijan on 10 October.

World Council of Churches (WCC) interim general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed grave concern over the renewed and very serious escalation of conflict in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region since Sunday 27 September – reportedly following an attack by Azerbaijan’s military forces – which has already resulted in dozens of casualties including civilians, and which risks provoking a wider armed conflict in the region.

The advocacy statement of ecumenical organisations responding to the new EU Migrant Pact and the situation of migrants and refugees in Europe was received 25 September in the European Commission offices in Brussels. The statement was addressed to Vangelis Demiris, cabinet member of the vice president of the commission Margaritis Schinas, who is coordinating the commission’s work on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Dr Jørgen Skov Sørensen, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches, and Dr Torsten Moritz, general secretary of the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe, delivered the statement to Demiris, who is responsible for the dialogue with the churches and faith-based organisations.

Conflict has ingrained itself in the people of Mozambique for many decades from the days of Portuguese colonial rule, to the ensuing civil war which only ended this century, and now Daesh along with the unseen enemy of COVID-19. So, the churches have their hands full as peacemakers.

For children, the COVID-19 pandemic is more about the impact of containment measures than a health issue, as such. Confinement may put children at risk for domestic violence and affect their rights to education, care and protection. Churches around the globe are well-positioned to pro-tect and champion child rights further.

In a 23 July statement, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia urged a peace resolution to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, calling on both sides to enter into dialogue.