WCC news: WCC congratulates newly elected United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended congratulations to Dr Barham Salih, newly elected as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.  Photo:  UN Photo/Cia Pak 23 December 2025 “We receive this news with deep appreciation and hope at a time when displacement has reached unprecedented levels and the international community is called anew to uphold human dignity, justice, protection, and peace,” Pillay wrote. “Your own experience of displacement and your long record of public service give you a unique moral authority for this vital responsibility.” The WCC collaborated with Salih during his tenure as president of the Republic of Iraq.  “We particularly valued your consistent efforts to promote social cohesion, inclusive citizenship, justice, and security for all—across religious, ethnic, and political divides—during a period marked by fragility and recovery,” wrote Pillay. “These commitments resonate deeply with the ecumenical vocation of the WCC and its engagement for just and peaceful societies.” Pillay welcomed the deepening partnership between the World Council of Churches and UN Refugee Agency, marked most recently by the signing of a Letter of Intent to strengthen collaboration, particularly in relation to stateless persons.  “This cooperation affirms our shared commitment to human dignity, justice, and protection, and recognises the unique contribution of faith communities in advocacy, resource mobilisation, and accompaniment of those living without nationality or legal identity,” wrote Pillay. “We affirm that uprootedness must never become a permanent condition nor a forgotten injustice, and that shared responsibility remains essential in responding to the scale and complexity of today’s displacement crises.” Pillay concluded by extending prayers and solidarity to Salih. “May your leadership strengthen international commitment and just action on behalf of all those whose lives and futures have been disrupted by conflict, persecution, and violence,” Pillay concluded.  Read the full letter WCC at Global Refugee Forum Progress Review 2025: “we reaffirm our shared commitment to be agents of hope” (WCC news release, 18 December 2025) 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 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches Chemin du Pommier 42 Kyoto Building Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218 Switzerland