wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Global financial crisis: The "G20" is not enough, says WCC

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches - News Release

Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 14/11/2008 17:24:31

>THE "G20" IS NOT ENOUGH, SAYS WCC

As many of those "responsible for the current financial
meltdown" meet "behind closed doors in Washington, D.C." to
discuss the future of the global economy, the World Council of
Churches (WCC) has challenged the legitimacy of the so-called
"G20" group of nations and called for broader participation. The
international financial architecture needs "a paradigm shift,"
says the WCC. 

"Debates on a new financial architecture should include
representatives of all developing countries and members from the
civil society including religious communities," said the WCC
general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in a statement on 14
November. The global crisis cannot be dealt with through "a
meeting limited to a small portion of the world’s countries,"
he added. 

The "G20" comprises leaders of 20 developed and emerging
economies who will meet in Washington, D. C. over the weekend to
discuss how to address the acute problems faced by the
international financial system. 

The global financial meltdown has debunked the myth that
"deregulated financial markets are 'efficient'," stated Kobia.
Its consequences are threatening the achievement of the UN
Millennium Development Goals. Efforts towards development aid and
the mitigation of climate change have been endangered as well. 

As "the prevailing international financial system is one based
on injustice […] nothing less than a paradigm shift is needed,"
Kobia said. The WCC general secretary proposed a series of
recommendations for "a new international financial architecture,"
including a "global regulatory framework" and a "process of
democratizing all global finance and trade institutions". 

Full text of the WCC general secretary statement:
http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=6419

Additional information:

Juan Michel  +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363  media@wcc-coe.org

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 349 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.