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Upon the 20th anniversary of the UN Resolution 1325, the question is still being answered as to whether women’s important work in peace and security is getting the visibility it deserves.

Fifty years after its assembly in Uppsala, Sweden, decisively turned to public engagement, the WCC still seeks to engage and address issues of public concern and the common good.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee, meeting this week in Uppsala, Sweden, heard the report of WCC Central Committee moderator Dr Agnes Abuom and WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

Advocacy for women’s rights and the fight against gender-based violence is not only a concern for women but crucial for the whole of humanity and more men need to get involved. This was one of the key emphases at the annual advocacy training for faith-based organizations (FBOs) at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva.

“The world is calling upon the faith leaders to use their power for justice for the excluded and discriminated against, and for the exploited planet earth,” says WCC deputy general secretary Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri.

Following the WCC/UN High Level Conference on the Refugee Crisis in Europe, which took place at the Ecumenical Centre Geneva on 18-19 January, a statement has been issued entitled "Europe’s Response to the Refuge Crisis, From Origin to Transit, Reception and Refuge, A Call for Shared Responsibility and Coordinated Action”.

To build just and sustainable peace, engaging churches, ecumenical organizations and civil society, the WCC has launched an Ecumenical Peace Advocacy Network (EPAN), aiming to turn its “pilgrimage of justice and peace” into concrete action.

A gender advisory group representing member churches of the WCC has begun working by developing procedures and policies to help the WCC in accomplishing gender justice in institutions, communities and societies – an objective lying at the core of its vision of a “pilgrimage of gender justice”.