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A webinar hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 26 November will explore “Conflict Zones and Covid-19: A call to compassion.” Speakers from Cameroon, Nigeria, South Sudan, Lebanon, Belarus and Colombia will offer their insights on how conflict exacerbates the conditions for contracting and treating COVID-19 among civilians caught in the crossfire, especially women.

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 World Council of Churches (WCC) sent greetings to the Presbyterian Church of Colombia as the church commemorates 164 years of preaching and service.

Within the context of confinement to prevent the spread of COVID-19, multifaceted violence persists in Colombia, as well as violations of the rights of social leaders, Indigenous, Afro-Colombian and peasant populations.

One of the main voices of the Brazilian and Latin American ecumenical movement, Jether Pereira Ramalho passed away on 28 June, in Rio, leaving behind a legacy of inspiration, dedication and transformation to many generations.

“It was with sorrow that we received the news about the passing of Rev. Norman Bent,” said Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC). “Through his tireless ministry for reconciliation, justice and peace, Rev. Bent leaves behind an inspiring legacy for the global ecumenical movement.”

Women in Chile have been subject to violence, forced nudity, humiliation and even rape in the framework of the social protests taking place in the nation since last October, said Chilean theologian and lawyer Cecilia Castillo Nanjari.

Helena Taliberti and Vagner Diniz, two very committed Brazilian parents with a passion for life and justice, want to feel connected to the world. “We came here because we are sure that the World Council of Churches (WCC) has a lot of connections,” they said. “The more we are together, the longer and farther we will go. Life is the most precious thing that we have.” The couple lost their children in a dam collapse in Brazil in January. WCC News met with them after a meeting with the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit in Geneva in early October.

When a wide-ranging ecumenical group discussed “Transitional Justice in Colombia, implications for the peace process”, many of the speakers seemed worried that the great hope there was back in 2016 seems to have dissipated and much more work for peace is needed.

A delegation comprised of two church leaders and a victim of death threats who lost family members due to the conflict in Colombia was hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) in New York, 27-30 May. All three spoke with member states of the United Nations Security Council about the worsening situation in relation to the peace accords with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the stalled dialogue with the National Liberation Army.

“We express our deepest concern with regard to the search for peace in Colombia, and we call upon the Colombian government and all armed actors to refrain from targeting social leaders and communities in conflict zones”, said Rev. Frank Chikane, moderator of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), in light of the recent killings of social leaders in Micoahumado, South Bolivar, and elsewhere around the country.

“I didn’t have any document that says who I am, so I started to look for answers that would help me to understand the real definition of my condition as a stateless person”, said Maha Mamo in a video interview published by World Council of Churches communications.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit sent a message to the participants of a public event held on 15 October, in Montevideo, Uruguay, celebrating the legacy of Emilio Castro and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“What?! You are going to the Barrio Borro? Sorry, I can’t drive you there, and no other taxi driver will do that for you. It is too dangerous to go there.” These were the reactions Frederique Seidel heard when she revealed her intention to visit the Obra Ecuménica Barrio Borro, in Uruguay.

The alarming number of alleged civilian casualties in Nicaragua raises “deep concern for the weakening of human rights and the fragility of the state of law”, said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit on 19 July.

As Colombia strives to pave the road to just peace, new death threats against social, union and religious leaders and institutions were issued by paramilitaries earlier this week. The World Council of Churches (WCC) is closely following the developments and reiterates its full support to those committed to working for peace in the country.

You wouldn’t pay two thousand times more than the value of a cup of coffee, so why pay that for a glass of water? That’s one of the reasons why members of the World Council of Churches’s Ecumenical Water Network (EWN) are encouraging you to consider joining the “Blue Community” and to stop using bottled water in places where tap water is safely and freely available.