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By Aneth Lwakatare (*)

A new inter-religious partnership for health will be kick-started at the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Review Summit in New York, 20-22 September.

Although it is often portrayed as a religious conflict, the crisis in Nigeria's Central Plateau State is of social and economic nature, the country's foreign minister told church representatives. The church delegation advocated for government action to develop the area and to bring to trial those responsible for an outburst of communal violence last March.

With a new sense of urgency in view of a pandemic that grows exponentially, high level figures from many of the world's faiths have committed to exercise "stronger, more visible and practical leadership" in response to HIV, with an emphasis on eradicating the stigma and discrimination towards those affected.

The first-ever Summit of High Level Religious Leaders on HIV and AIDS will be held in Den Dolder, Netherlands, from 22-23 March 2010. It aims to generate greater involvement from religious leaders of many of the world’s faiths in the global response to the pandemic.

Christian villagers are rebuilding their lives and relationships more than a year after being attacked by a group of Hindu extremists in the eastern Indian state of Orissa.

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia was one of ten world religious leaders who signed a statement entitled "Faith in Human Rights" at an International Inter-religious Conference in The Hague, Netherlands on Wednesday, 10 December.

"As Christians, we are called to stand with those who are victims of oppression, poverty or violence," Rev. Elenora Giddings Ivory, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) programme on Public Witness said in advance of the WCC's United Nations Advocacy Week, 16 to 21 November in New York.

The UN Liaison Office of the World Council of Churches (WCC) is co-sponsoring an international dialogue between religious leaders and political figures - including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - aimed at exploring faith perspectives and the role of religion regarding global issues such as poverty, war and prejudice while deepening mutual understanding.

The "savage murders" of three Christians in Malatya, Turkey, on 18 April are "the latest tragedy" in a series of "killings and other threats directed at members and leaders of religious minorities" in the country that are of "serious concern" and cause "deep revulsion" and "dismay", the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia has told Turkish authorities.

An ecumenical report and a call to action documenting human rights violations in the Philippines will be launched today in Geneva (Palais des Nations, Room XXVII, 14:00), within the framework of the current session of the UN Human Rights Council.

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The World Council of Churches' (WCC) central committee has urged religious and political leaders to promote the return of displaced persons, co-existence and reconciliation in the divided region of Kosovo as the basis of any long-term settlement.

<span style="font-weight: bold; "» African church leaders visit Israel & Palestine

The root causes and complex nature of violence, and aspects of Christian spiritual life that can contribute towards the building of a culture of peace in today’s world, will be the focus of an international conference taking place in Boston, USA from 27-29 October 2005.

More than a hundred people from diverse faiths and traditions will participate at the "Critical moment in interreligious dialogue" conference scheduled for 7-9 June 2005 to analyse, assess and review the experience of interreligious collaboration and dialogue as it has been practised over recent decades and might be practised in future.

Grace and peace to you on this Feast of Pentecost 2005, in which we celebrate the many gifts of God's Spirit!

by Henrike Müller (*)

Full text of the statements and photos available, see below.

by Aruna Gnanadason (*)