https://www.oikoumene.org/news/wcc-calls-for-renewed-commitment-to-multilateral-cooperation

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay commented on the changing world order, the Board of Peace launched in Davos, and the challenge to multilateralism.

“While we appreciate the initiatives taken to address prevailing conflicts and wars in the world, we need to be mindful of the concerns this new body raises,” said Pillay. “It is difficult to reconcile the Board of Peace’s Charter with the UN Charter’s emphasis on sovereign equality and collective decision‑making.”

Pillay acknowledged that it is true that the UN has been and remains at best an imperfect instrument for the purposes envisioned by the WCC and by all those who have invested so much hope in it. 

“The UN as it currently stands is certainly not adequately fulfilling  the purposes for which it was founded, less still for the challenges of today,” he said. "The WCC remains committed to the principles and purposes for which the United Nations is founded.”

Pillay urged that multilateral cooperation is an absolute necessity in face of the converging global crises confronting our world. “We call for renewed international commitment to the vision expressed in the United Nations Charter, and for reforms that strengthen the UN and correct its faults, rather than weaken it,” he said. “The WCC welcomes and supports peace initiatives that uphold Christian values.”

Read the WCC reaction - The changing world order: The Board of Peace, and the challenge to multilateralism

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https://www.oikoumene.org/news/wcc-deeply-alarmed-by-escalating-violence-in-us

The United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, housed at the historic Palais des Nations. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC

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AuthorGrassroots Luton