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In a letter to the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, the World Council of Churches (WCC) has expressed continued concern about the situation in Zimbabwe and asked the world body to utilize its resources to assure an end to pre-election violence in the southern African country and a free and fair election on 27 June.

With an estimated 850 million people suffering from hunger worldwide, nine out of ten of which live in developing countries, "the scandal of hunger demands the immediate attention of the churches", affirmed today in a statement the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia.

By Jean Blaylock (*)

The 29 March elections in Zimbabwe were "far from being free and fair" and were "skewed in favour of the incumbent who openly utilised state resources to his advantage," two ecumenical bodies said in a recently released report on the election. The Zimbabwean people "expressed their will on polling day" and that will must be "upheld and respected" the report said.

Concerned about the integrity of elections, the World Council of Churches Central Committee stated recently that, "…in democratic systems, elections serve as a way for people to confer legitimacy on a participatory democratic political system. In order to ensure that an election truly reflects the will of the people, attention should be paid to pre- and post-electoral mechanisms."

Calling for alternatives to enforced free trade, churches and church-related organizations world-wide, along with other religious groups and community partners, are gearing up for the Trade Week of Action, 14-21 October.

More articles and free photos at

:: World AIDS Day events in Geneva and Bern

Free photos available, see below

By Hugh McCullum (*)

Free photos of the hunger strike tent available, see below.

Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, commented today on the situation in Sudan's Darfur region: