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The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed deep sorrow upon the demise of Swami Agnivesh, a longtime Hindu partner of the WCC, and offered its heartfelt condolences to grieving communities.

The legacy of sexual slavery before, during and after the brutal Korean War weighs heavily on the shoulders of the thousands of Korean women who lived for decades under a brutal militarized patriarchy.

A Women of Faith Pilgrim Team gathered, some in person and others virtually, in South Korea from 13-15 July. They were there to listen and accompany Korean church women as they called for an end to patriarchy – manifested in the Japanese colonization of Korea and establishment of ‘comfort women’ and also in the Korean War — and to the resulting pain and injustice that remains a grim daily reality for many today.

The Christian Conference of Asia is urging its member churches and councils to join the UN’s call to observe 30 July as the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

When Rev. Rex Reyes leaves as Christian Conference of Asia president of clergy after two general assemblies and one term as president, the organization loses a humble and very articulate man firmly rooted in the faith.

“Churches in Japan are true witnesses of Jesus Christ through their words and deeds. Their strength even in a minority situation is impressive. Their voices in critical times are significant for Japan, paving a way towards justice and peace,” said Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC during his visit to member churches of the WCC in Japan.

Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri, associate and acting general secretary of the WCC, has expressed solidarity with those seeking justice for women who suffered from sexual slavery imposed by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II.

Situations of conflict, social fragmentation and political tensions in South Sudan, South Korea and Nigeria, as well as struggles of the churches in these countries seeking justice, peace and stability for all people and communities, formed the focus of a session on 3 July at the WCC Central Committee meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

Sexual slavery, resistance and women’s demand for justice were the focus of a recent event hosted by the WCC in Geneva, Switzerland, featuring representatives of the Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan.

In a first meeting since 2009 and since the 2013 appointment of a new leader for the Korea Christian Federation (KCF) of North Korea, an international group of from 34 churches and related organizations from 15 countries, including North and South Korea, met near Geneva, Switzerland, to seek ways to advance reconciliation and peace on the peninsula.

A communiqué adopted at a WCC consultation describes human trafficking as a “serious human rights violation” and its consequences are “most horrific results of the economic and social disparities that increase the vulnerability of millions of people”.

In an ecumenical consultation held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, called human trafficking a criminal activity, on rapid increase in the world. Ezeilo said that not a single country or entity has yet been able to stop this practice, and the magnitude of this problem is enormous.

The WCC will hold an international consultation exploring links between migration, human trafficking and modern slavery. The focus of the gathering concerns thousands of migrants faced with violence, abuse and exploitation during their perilous journeys as well as in the countries to which they migrate.

Migrants are reduced to mere commodities, traded and exchanged in the global market, according to a declaration issued by churches calling for an end to this gross violation of human dignity. The declaration was issued on the occasion of the Second United Nations High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in New York City, USA.