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The WCC Central Committee called on the government of Pakistan to “guarantee the rights of all religious minorities in the country”.

The World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia appealed to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari to "ensure the safety and security" of Christians in the Punjab province, where three attacks against Christian communities were carried by militant Islamic groups in the last two months. He demanded that the government "take necessary actions against the perpetrators".

At a time when the international community is re-kindling the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, the North Korean nuclear test is a source of profound concern, stated the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia.

An international ecumenical consultation has appealed to the government of Sri Lanka and the rebel movement Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to halt fighting in order to free tens of thousands of civilians trapped in a war zone in the north of the country.

By Henrik Hansson (*)

The Mumbai terrorist attacks and an IMF agreement that will negatively impact the poor set the tone for a World Council of Churches (WCC) Living Letters team visit to Pakistan from 24 November to 1 December.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions has been welcomed as a "humane and historic victory" by the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia. Commenting on the signing of the convention in Oslo, Norway today, Kobia congratulated the more than 100 signatory countries and reiterated the need for states that have not yet done so - including the United States, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and Zimbabwe - to "sign and support this timely arms control and humanitarian initiative".

Religious freedom and interreligious dialogue will be on the agenda of an international ecumenical delegation visiting Pakistan from 24 November to 1 December. The group will discuss how churches can help ease political and religions tensions with representatives from churches, the Muslim community and government officials.

"Please remind the world that we are no longer at war," a high-ranking government official from Sierra Leone told an international ecumenical team visiting churches and ecumenical organizations in Liberia and Sierra Leone from 2 to 8 November.

In Liberia, Sierra Leone and South Africa, churches have played a major role in reconciliation between groups who had been in violent conflict with each other for decades. Two international ecumenical teams sent by the World Council of Churches (WCC) will visit the three countries during the next two weeks.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia has said that "one of the greatest problems facing the world today is religious extremism."

By Annegret Kapp (*)

"Islam cannot be studied like grammar," Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) of the Greek Orthodox Church in Syria, told a delegation led by Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), who had come to Syria wishing to learn from the country's long experience of Christians and Muslims living peacefully together. "We have to see the real people and share with them. Muslims are sharing with you by living in your countries. Why do you ignore them?" the patriarch asked particularly the delegation members from Europe and the United States at the outset of their 19 to 22 April visit.

The diminishing religious diversity in the Middle East was discussed as a threat to the stability of the region on Monday 21 April meeting between a WCC delegation and Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

The World Council of Churches central committee issued a reminder on the pressing issue of climate change this week, urging member churches and others to "Be stewards of God's creation".

By Walt Wiltschek (*)

A new World Council of Churches (WCC) initiative aimed at supporting Christians living in conflict situations around the world has begun. "When one part of the body suffers, the whole body suffers with it," Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the WCC said in a videotaped address to experts in international relations and ecumenical partners at a recent consultation held in Geneva, 8-10 December.

By Jerry Hames (*)

By Jerry Hames (*)