WCC NEWS: WCC executive committee appeals for peace in Ethiopia

In a public statement, the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee joined in prayer and solidarity with the churches and people of Ethiopia as they face a grave and accelerating crisis. The humanitarian situation in Ethiopia has been difficult for many years, with droughts, ethnic tensions and conflict affecting the lives of many. Here, dust and smoke fill the air in Bale Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Photo: Albin Hillert/LWF, 2019 17 November 2021 “The executive committee reiterates and underscores the concerns raised in its November 2020 statement regarding the political instrumentalization of ethnic differences, threatening the very fabric of the nation and the security of all its people,” reads the statement. “Again, we urge all parties to the ongoing violent conflicts to remember the extremity of suffering inflicted on the people of Ethiopia by conflict and division in the past and now.” The WCC executive committee also appealed for a retreat from the precipice of a new catastrophe. “The victims of this renewed conflict are and will be the people of Ethiopia,” the statement reads. The WCC executive committee is meeting—in-person for the first time in two years—from 12-17 November at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute. Read full statement: Appeal for peace in Ethiopia WCC executive committee member shares reflection on “how are we called to act in love and justice?” (WCC press release of 15 November 2021) WCC executive committee “reimagining the future” with a sense of hope (WCC press release of 12 November 2021) WCC executive committee to hold first in-person meeting in two years (WCC press release of 12 November 2021) See more

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 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland