WCC News: Geneva Peace Forum panel explores what faith brings to peacebuilding

The World Council of Churches (WCC) hosted a panel at the annual Geneva Peace Forum on 15 October that explored the role of faith-based actors in peacebuilding. “What Faith Brings to the Dialogue Table” was co-organized with ACT Alliance, Arigatou International, and Caritas Internationalis. Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs moderates the panel discussion “What Faith Brings to the Dialogue Table” at the Geneva Peace Forum on 15 October 2026. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 16 October 2026 Peter Prove, director of the WCC Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, who moderated the discussion, opened the session by remarking on how the credibility of religious leaders is drawn from their local presence.  “Faith-based actors—especially locally-rooted religious actors who are known and respected in their communities— are key contributors to peace processes in many parts of the world,” he said.  Mgr Héctor Fabio Henao Gaviria, delegate for Church-State Relations at the Colombian Episcopal Conference, stressed how the most effective peacebuilders do not speak on behalf of victims but clear the way for them to speak for themselves. “Trust is a form of capital,” he said. “No lasting peace can be built by force alone.” Jenny Neme Neiva, WCC special envoy for dialogue and political engagement in Colombia, spoke about the peace dialogue tables in Colombia.  “When there are so many messages about war worldwide, it is always important to defend spaces to talk about peace,” she said. “In our case, as ecclesial actors, our work developed very much from a pastoral perspective.” Neme also cited the importance of “improbable conversations” on the road to peace.      Wendyam Hervé Lankoandé, member of the International Geneva Peace Fellowship, serving at the WCC, highlighted how the Central African Republic is a country with decades of political instability. “The civil war that occurred back in 2013—I think this was a key moment because the civil war was painted as a religious war,” he said. “In fact it wasn’t. But violence entrepreneurs, they managed to frame the conflict as such.” Lankoandé called on faith-based actors to serve as reservoirs of expertise, knowledge, and wisdom. Rayane Baydoun, project officer in Emergency Response and Youth at the Adyan Foundation based in Lebanon, reflected on the foundation’s work to support inter-religious cooperation and harmony, and about the vital importance of building trust. “Faith actors should be partners in these ecosystems from the beginning,” she said. “They can also be a moral voice for human dignity.” Dr Rachel Tavernor, global advocacy and policy manager at ACT Alliance, gave closing remarks. “Perhaps what is most central—at least from my own faith tradition—is the understanding that peace and justice cannot be separated,” she said. “Faith rooted in local communities brings something distinctive to the dialogue table. This work requires patience, humility, and deep listening.” Reflecting on the event afterwards, Prove observed that “this panel session presented a range of relevant experiences of faith-based engagement in promoting peace, across the spectrum from Track 1 official dialogue processes to informal local-level community-based initiatives for peace and social cohesion. It made the case for the recognition and integration of religious leaders and faith-based initiatives in the wider ‘peace eco-system’ – which is very much needed in this time of proliferating conflicts and disengagement from dialogue in favour of armed violence. As one of the speakers said, our hashtag is #keeppeacealive.” Photo gallery of the panel discussion More on the Geneva Peace Forum 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