General Secretaries of WCC and CCA denounce Myanmar military’s continued lethal action against the people

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).

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04 March 2021
Themes of high importance are highlighted by liturgical dancers during the session of the Asia Mission Conference in Yangon, Myanmar, October 2017.Photo: Paul Jeffrey/WCC

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) General Secretaries have condemned the deteriorating law and order situation and violence in Myanmar, especially the killings of people by Myanmar security forces during protests against the military coup.

Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, General Secretary of the WCC, and Dr Mathews George Chunakara, General Secretary of the CCA, in a joint statement expressed great distress and concern over the continued lethal actions against the people by the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw), which overthrew its democratically-elected government on 1 February 2021.

The leaders of the global ecumenical bodies stated that the democratically elected civilian government reflects the aspiration of the people. The will of the people and the outcome of the elections have to be respected and democratic processes must be restored in Myanmar.

“As we believe that the rule of law and democracy must be the cardinal parameters for ensuring peace with justice, we firmly denounce the military coup which has now returned full power to the generals,” added Rev. Dr Sauca and Dr Chunakara in their joint statement on behalf of the international ecumenical organisations.

According to media reports, since the military coup took place on 1 February, 38 people have been shot dead during clashes at protests in different parts of the country, and hundreds wounded.

The global ecumenical leaders urged the military leaders of Myanmar to refrain from repressive actions against civilians; respect human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law; and pursue dialogue with the democratically elected representatives of the people of Myanmar.

The military justified the coup saying its complaints of voter fraud in the elections of 8 November 2020 had been ignored. Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) won the election by a landslide, earning a second five-year term, and the Election Commission confirmed that the election was fair.

“In this Lenten season, the WCC and CCA uphold and affirm the sanctity of life and the dignity of all,” concluded the joint statement.

The full text of the joint statement can be found below: