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The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee recently issued a statement expressing concern over the escalation of violence in Tanah Papua, Indonesia. They urged the Indonesian authorities to stop the killings of civilians at the hands of armed forces and protect the rights of Papuan people.

Dr Rommel F. Linatoc reflected on the issues of water and sanitation from an ecumenical perspective in the Philippines, speaking in an interview at the Global Forum of the Ecumenical Water Network. The theme of the forum, which took place from 25-27 October in Nairobi, Kenya, was "Like a tree planted by the water".

"Mental illnesses affect people of all ages, in all societies, from the boy soldier in Sierra Leone traumatized by years of bloody civil war, to the mother affected by HIV/AIDS. Therefore it is crucial for the churches to challenge the stigma attached to mental illness,"€ the Rev. Kjell Magne Bondevik reminds the churches.

Sofía Chipana Quispe is part of the first generation of her family born in the city. Her parents migrated to La Paz, Bolivia, from the Andean mountain rural areas before she was born in 1952.

Tuvalu, a Polynesian island nation in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Australia, is home to more than 11,000 people, whose very existence, which at one time was tied to the ocean and its bounty, is now threatened by rising ocean water levels.

As peace advocates from around the world relayed heartrending stories of violence and oppression, they also expressed their ongoing hope that a movement of peace will prevail during the proceedings of the second day of the International Ecumenical Peace Convocation (IEPC) being held in Kingston, Jamaica.

Joint release with the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Council for World Mission

The global fund for tackling HIV and AIDS should be distributed through churches because they have the best access to the populations affected.

International church and ecumenical organizations have welcomed the adoption of a new International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, both of which were agreed at the inaugural session of the UN Human Rights Council which concluded in Geneva on 30 June 2006.

Churches need to build youth participation so that young people can

"Tourism, while being a potent force for good, has sadly turned into an activity that leaves in its trail massive numbers of victims", says World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Samuel Kobia in a message on World Tourism Day, 27 September.

Reacting to the verdict of a Libyan court which has condemned to death six foreign health workers, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia has asked H.E. Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi, Leader of the Revolution, to spare their lives on humanitarian grounds.

> WCC Central Committee meeting

At least 19 faith-based organizations are among the 160 initial signers of a new Code of Good Practice for NGOs Responding to HIV/AIDS.

By Hanna Smidt(*)

<span style="font-weight: bold; "» Where is the ecumenical movement going in the 21st century?

"When we recognize that our lives are gracious gifts of God, it becomes our mission in this world to care for life and the dignity of all," said the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in a public lecture given during his visit to Fiji last week.

Free multimedia coverage of the 15th International Aids Conference in Bangkok available at

Cf WCC Upcoming Events of December 2003