World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org For immediate release - 01/03/2007 11:44:41 AM
CHURCHES URGED TO SUPPORT UN PEACEBUILDING COMMISSION
The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee has expressed appreciation for the establishment of the UN Peacebuilding Commission, and urged WCC member churches to encourage and support its efforts.
In a statement adopted today at its 27 February - 2 March meeting in Bossey, near Geneva, the WCC governing body reiterated its welcome to the Peacebuilding Commission established by the UN in December 2005. It called the related peacebuilding fund launched last October a "major step forward".
While urging WCC member churches to "encourage and support the efforts" of the commission, it also called on UN member states to "provide full moral, material and human resources, backing and support to ensure the successful functioning" of the commission.
The UN Peacebuilding Commission is designed to support post-conflict stabilization initiatives, such as implementation of peace agreements and prevention of the recurrence of conflict. It is also expected to extend the period of attention by the international community to post-conflict recovery.
In its statement, the WCC executive committee emphasized the "importance of participation of regional and local actors," particularly of "those affected by the conflict" in the deliberations of the commission. It also reiterated the need to "recognize the role and contribution of the churches and civil society organizations engaged in peacebuilding activities".
The full text of the statement is available at: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=3168
See also the 9th WCC Assembly statement on UN reform at: http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=1975
Additional information: Juan Michel, +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
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The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 348 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
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