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Peace in Colombia has been a long time coming, began Juan Carlos Cuéllar, representative of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), as he spoke at a World Council of Churches (WCC) panel discussion titled "The things that make for peace in Colombia” on 9 April.

In a nation marked by decades of alarming numbers of internal displacement and confinement mainly affecting Indigenous and Afro-Colombians, the walk toward peace is complicated—but the World Council of Churches (WCC) is deepening collaboration on Colombia’s vision for total peace.

A delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) is visiting Colombia, conveying a message of the WCC’s commitment to accompanying and supporting the nation’s peace processes.

In a keynote address at the International Conference for Reconciliation in Colombia, Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, World Council of Churches (WCC) programme director for Public Witness and Diakonia, reflected on “Ecumenical Experiences and Learnings in the Construction of the Peace.”

“It was with sadness that we received the news of the passing of Prof. Dr Julio Hector de Santa Ana, a reference of ecumenical theology in a liberating perspective,” said Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). De Santa Ana passed away in Geneva, Switzerland, on 17 April.

Churches from the Pacific Islands and across the world continued to voice their prayers of support and care as Tonga copes with the aftermath of the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano on 14 January, which triggered 15-metre tsunami waves that hit the archipelago.

World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca extended prayers and condolences to people in Tonga, and the churches and rescue workers helping them, in the wake of a massive volcanic eruption smothered the Pacific islands in ash, cut power and severed communications.

The World Council of Churches, ACT Alliance, Lutheran World Federation, World Communion of Reformed Churches, Anglican Communion, World Methodist Council, Latin American Episcopal Council and World Association for Christian Communication, in a letter sent 18 May, urged Colombian president Iván Duque Marquéz to stop the spiral of violence that is doing terrible harm to the civilian population.

The film “Radio Silence,” by Juliana Fanjul, has received the Human Rights Award 2020 from the World Association for Christian Communication and SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication.

The feature-length documentary portrays government-critical journalist and radio host Carmen Arestigui. 

 

Upon the 20th anniversary of the UN Resolution 1325, the question is still being answered as to whether women’s important work in peace and security is getting the visibility it deserves.

The Global Media Monitoring Project, able to take place safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic, continues to promote gender justice in media coverage. Thousands of volunteers from 145 countries are participating.

Economist Thomas Kang is a member of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC).