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International church and ecumenical organizations have welcomed the adoption of a new International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, both of which were agreed at the inaugural session of the UN Human Rights Council which concluded in Geneva on 30 June 2006.

The head of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Patriarch Abune Paulos, one of the presidents of the WCC, has spoken out forcefully in favour of peace and reconciliation in a region beset by conflicts.

"Deeply distressed" by the current escalation of the Israel/Palestine conflict, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia called on the international community "to take bold and novel actions to uphold international law and break the vicious cycle of violence" in the region. Both parties should engage in "equitable negotiations," he said.

For peace to be achieved, both parties to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be held to identical standards on ending violence, respecting agreements, and recognizing the other says the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee.

On the day of Pentecost described in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit transformed a diverse gathering of people - many of them drawn from distant lands (Acts 2:5-11). In February of this year, thousands of Christians from every region of the world had a similar experience - a Pentecost experience - while participating in the Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in southern Brazil.

Writing to the churches of Brazil from the World Council of Churches' executive committee meeting in Geneva, WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia and central committee moderator Rev. Dr Walter Altmann convey the Council's "solidarity and prayers" to the victims of recent gang violence in São Paulo, and comment on the social and legal background to these events.