WCC NEWS: WCC meets with US State Department assistant secretary for religious freedom

The World Council of Churches (WCC) met with Mariah Mercer, acting principal deputy assistant secretary for International Religious Freedom with the US State Department, on 3 March.  Mariah Mercer, acting principal deputy assistant secretary for International Religious Freedom with the US State Department, accompanied by Reese Phillips and Shamis Mohamud, met with the WCC representatives on 3 March 2026.  Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 04 March 2026 The WCC delegation included Rev. Dr Kenneth Mtata, WCC programme director for Life, Justice, and Peace; Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs; Carla Khijoyan, WCC programme executive for peace building in the Middle East; and Marianne Ejdersten, WCC director of Communication. Mercer, who was accompanied by Reese Phillips and Shamis Mohamud, received a welcome and introduction to the WCC, and participated in dialogue about unity, justice, peace, human rights, and religious freedom. In his remarks, Mtata highlighted the WCC’s historic role in shaping Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “We continue to take freedom of religion and belief seriously—along with the entire human rights framework—not only because the churches contributed to its establishment, but because its vision is urgently needed today,” he said. Those convened held a thematic discussion on current priorities and contexts in the Middle East, where Christian communities and other religious minorities in the region are facing challenges. The meeting also explored avenues for protection and peaceful coexistence.  Moving to a discussion of broader human rights and religious freedom, the WCC and US State Department representatives exchanged views on other critical contexts in which the WCC is active, and how the WCC and the US State Department can constructively engage. The meeting ended with a discussion of opportunities for future dialogue and cooperation. Photo gallery from the meeting 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