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The world's first Arms Trade Treaty is “a milestone in efforts to bring commerce in deadly weapons under much-needed controls,” according to the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).

The Department of Ecumenical Relations and Development (DERD) of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East has delivered around 75,000 humanitarian aid kits to an estimate of 280,045 individuals in Syria amidst its on-going conflict.

The general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit and other members of the WCC staff met in New York on 12 February with the United Nations (UN) deputy secretary-general Jan Eliasson. Tveit and Eliasson discussed the many conflicts and divisions around the world, including North and South Korea, the Middle East region, particularly Syria and Israel-Palestine.

“Violence begets violence. It is not possible for Syrians to overcome conflict without a political solution, strong democratic institutions and demilitarization of the country,” said Dr Haytham Al-Manna, a prominent Syrian human rights defender and opposition figure, head of the National Coordination Body for Democratic Change in Syria (NCB).

"€œPeace is something radical, something that has to be told - and has to be believed, so that it may become possible," said the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in a Sunday evening sermon at the Myung Sung Presbyterian Church in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 27 January 2013.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit attended the funeral of Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) in Beirut, on 9 December.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit expressed “deepest sorrow” on the death of Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East. He passed away on 5 December in Lebanon, at age 92.Â

Orthodox churches have reaffirmed their commitment to "unity, justice and peace" saying that the "supreme act of God`s love is the economy of salvation". This and other theological reflections were shared in an inter-Orthodox consultation in Kos, Greece this week.

South Africa, Australia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Greece, French Polynesia (Maohi Nui), Pakistan, Syria and Myanmar have provided the subjects for statements and minutes of concern voiced by the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) as part of public issues actions during a recent meeting of that governing body at the Orthodox Academy of Crete in Kolympari, Greece.

Calling for an immediate end to all forms of violence in Syria, the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee issued a public statement on 4 September requesting “all parties to engage in dialogue – as the only solution – in order to safeguard the unity and pluralistic nature of historic Syria”.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) “ is defined by all the three key words in our name. We are global, in all continents, and therefore also in solidarity with one another, seeking peace in all its meaning for the whole earth,” said the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has expressed appreciation for an appeal from the primate of the Antiochian Greek Orthodox Church, who has called upon all Syrians to “work together in order to achieve peace and stability in Syria.”

Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), has appealed to United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, requesting that the UN give “a stronger and clearer mandate” to Kofi Annan’s initiative for peace in Syria.