wfn.org | WCC NEWS: UN remains indispensable, ecumenical leaders affirm

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World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153   +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org 
For immediate release - 08/09/2004

 UN REMAINS INDISPENSABLE, ECUMENICAL LEADERS AFFIRM

 The general secretaries of eight regional ecumenical bodies and of the
 World Council of Churches (WCC) have sent a letter to UN secretary-general
 Kofi Annan "reaffirming the deep desire" of their organisations and member
 churches "to support the United Nations" and the person of its
 secretary-general "at this critical time on the world scene".

"We believe that the UN remains the indispensable instrument of the nations
of the world if they are to remove the scourge of war from the earth and to
establish the conditions for peace, notably: observance of human rights, a
just sharing of the earth's resources, eliminating poverty and all forms of
discrimination," states the letter sent from Nairobi, Kenya, on 4
September, 2004.

Signed by the general secretaries of regional ecumenical bodies from
Europe, USA, Canada, Africa, Middle East, Latin America, the Caribbean, the
Pacific, and the WCC, the letter highlights the "deep respect and trust"
that the UN secretary-general deserves among the organizations'
constituencies. The signatories assure Annan of the "spiritual support" and
"prayers of countless people of faith and goodwill around the world".

The letter also suggests that "the inherited structures of governance of
the UN do not adequately reflect the present realities and needs of the
world as a whole," particularly for "many peoples and nations, especially
outside Europe and North America". The 60th anniversary of the founding of
the UN, it says, presents an opportunity to appraise its role since the
Second World War and to make "an examination of how it can be adapted to
fulfill more effectively its role in a world which has changed so much in
sixty years".

Full text of the letter is available at:
http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/ecumenical/reos-annan.html 


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 is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in more
than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.