WCC news: WCC urges pausing proposed merger of UN Women, United Nations Population Fund

n a letter to UN secretary-general António Guterres, World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay urged pausing the proposed merger of UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund under the UN80 reform initiative.  Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 6 August 2026 “We recognise the legitimate purpose behind your UN80 initiative, and we do not write as opponents of reform,” writes Pillay. “Our concern is grounded in a conviction we hold as a matter of faith: that women bear the image of God as fully as men, and that the dignity of the vulnerable cannot be a line item in an efficiency exercise.” Pillay notes that many countries have formally stated that the analysis does not yet demonstrate how a composite model would preserve the integrity of either mandate. “Combining them risks weakening both,” he writes. Pillay further notes that, with more than a quarter of countries at heightened risk of rights regression, reopening mandate language now invites those opposed to gender equality to weaken protections that are already hard-won. “More than 500 civil society organisations report being treated as a communications audience rather than as partners in this decision, on a timeline too compressed for the consultation a change of this magnitude warrants,” Pillay writes. “Move the women most affected by these decisions, especially across the Global South and Africa, from consultation to formal participation in any review of the two entities’ collaboration, through a standing multi-stakeholder mechanism with a genuine seat at the table.” Pillay further urges a defined pilot period before any structural change. “Give the collaborative model 18–24 months to run, measured against published indicators, so that any future efficiency case rests on evidence rather than projection - the very standard several member states have already said this process has not yet met,” he writes. “Commission a transparent, independently reviewed costing of the composite model’s transition costs and of the safeguards meant to protect each mandate, before, not after, any decision is taken.” The letter points out that member states cannot make an informed judgement on the basis of what has not been shared with them. “We would welcome the opportunity, in the days ahead of any decision, to brief you or your office further, alongside our ecumenical and civil-society partners, on the perspective set out here,” Pillay concludes.  Read the full letter WCC calls for renewed commitment to multilateral cooperation (WCC news release, 23 January 2026) 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