CCA calls for compassionate action for refugees on World Refugee Day 2025

Programme Review and Programme Direction

Two key deliberative sessions during the 15th CCA General Assembly are the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions.

The Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions will both be conducted in three groups relating to the CCA’s programme areas, namely, (i) General Secretariat (GS), (ii) Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF); and (iii) Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia (PD).

Assembly participants will have the option to join one of three groups for both the Programme Review and Programme Direction sessions. For the sake of coherence, the assigned group will remain the same for both sessions.

General Secretariat

The General Secretariat oversees the coordination of programmatic, administrative, and financial activities of the organization. The GS comprises various departments such as church and ecumenical relations, relations with ecumenical partners, finance, administration, and communications, which provide crucial support and services for the implementation of programs and contribute to the overall functioning of the CCA.

Programmes: Relations with member churches and councils, ecumenical partners; advocacy at the United Nations; ecumenical responses to emerging issues in solidarity; income development and finance; and communications.

Mission in Unity and Contextual Theology (MU) and Ecumenical Leadership Formation and Spirituality (EF)

Under the MU programme area, the CCA accompanies Asian churches to strengthen their mission and witness in multi-religious contexts, revitalise and nurture church unity and the Asian ecumenical movement, and develop contextual theological foundations.

Programmes: Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU); Congress of Asian Theologians (CATS); Asian women doing theology in the context of wider ecumenism; contextualisation of theology in Asia and ecumenical theological education.

The EF programme area focuses on nurturing and developing ecumenical leaders in Asia. The programme aims to enhance spiritual formation and theological understanding, enabling people to actively engage in ecumenical dialogue and collaboration.

Programmes: Ecumenical Enablers’ Training in Asia (EETA); Asian Ecumenical Institute (AEI); Youth and Women Leadership Development; Ecumenical Spirituality and Nurturing of Contextual Liturgical Traditions; Asia Sunday

Building Peace and Moving Beyond Conflicts (BP) and Prophetic Diakonia and Advocacy (PD)

The BP programme area is dedicated to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation in Asia’s diverse contexts. Through training, advocacy, and dialogue, the programme addresses the root causes of conflicts, empowers communities, and fosters sustainable peacebuilding initiatives.

Programmes: Pastoral Solidarity Visits; Churches in Action for Moving Beyond Conflict and Resolution; Young Ambassadors of Peace in Asia (YAPA); Ecumenical Women’s Action Against Violence (EWAAV); Eco-Justice for Sustainable Peace in the Oikos.

The PD programme area focuses on promoting justice, human rights, and social transformation in Asia. Through advocacy, capacity-building, and raising awareness, the programme addresses systemic injustice, empowers marginalised communities, and advocates for prophetic actions and meaningful change.

Programmes: Human Rights advocacy; Migration, Statelessness, and Trafficking in Persons; Asian Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network; Asian Advocacy Network on the Dignity and Rights of Children (AANDRoC); Ecumenical Solidarity Accompaniment and Diakonia in Asia (ESADA); Health and Healing; Good Governance; Action Together to Combat HIV and AIDS in Asia (ATCHAA).

No preference updated.

20 June 2025

Chiang Mai, Thailand: The Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) has expressed deep solidarity with refugees, forcibly displaced persons, and stateless communities in a statement released on 20 June 2025, to mark World Refugee Day.

The CCA General Secretary, Dr Mathews George Chunakara, highlighted the growing humanitarian challenges facing the region, drawing attention to the plight of more than 17.2 million people across Asia and the Pacific who have been displaced due to conflict, persecution, political instability, military occupation, and the escalating impacts of climate change.

The statement raised concern over the rising number of people displaced by climate-related disasters in vulnerable, low-lying areas, including Bangladesh’s coastal districts, the Sundarbans delta, the Maldives, and parts of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. The statement further highlighted the ongoing displacement of minority and Indigenous communities in countries such as Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand, and Malaysia, often driven by systemic discrimination, legal precarity, and environmental degradation.

“As people of faith, we recognise these crises not only as urgent calls for humanitarian response but also as a solemn responsibility to care for God’s creation and uphold the dignity of every human being. The Church in Asia is called to stand in unwavering solidarity with those forced to flee their homes due to environmental devastation, conflict, and exclusion. We must be sanctuaries of welcome and agents of advocacy—challenging the systems that perpetuate displacement while accompanying affected communities with compassion, hope, and resilience,” stated Dr Mathews George Chunakara.

The full text of the CCA’s Statement on World Refugee Day 2025 can be found here: