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"We must have the courage to admit that the market and globalization have failed more than two-thirds of the world population who live in poverty," says Dr Molefe Tsele, general secretary of the South African Council of Churches (SACC). "The evidence, which is impossible to hide any longer, is that we are now living with the legacy of unparalleled inequality between North and South, impoverishment, and deprivation of the barest necessities of life and dignity."

The world’s religions aspire to peace. However it is a sad fact that they are often involved in conflict and violence. This paradox was the subject of intense discussion at a multi-faith consultation on violence, peace and religions held in June. Forty participants – Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Christians from Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, North and South America – gathered for eight days at the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, near Geneva. The elimination of violence, they declared, is a challenge to all religions. The consultation was the first in a series on the topic of religions and violence to be organized by the Ecumenical Institute.

Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), will lead a delegation to the Horn of Africa, 1-16 July. The main purpose of the visit is to learn more about the ongoing conflicts in the region and the peace-building role churches can play. Raiser notes that a major need is "to reflect with the churches on the challenge of Christians and Muslims living together without their differences turning into sources of conflict". The delegation will visit northern and southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Tanzania and Kenya.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) are coordinating an international team to observe the Zimbabwean presidential elections taking place 9-10 March 2002. Some members of the 86-person team are already in place to observe election preparations.