GENEVA, Oct. 14, 2013 /
Christian Newswire/ -- The World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has congratulated the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for recognition of its life-saving work on elimination of chemical weapons, especially in Syria, through the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize 2013.
In a letter issued by the WCC on 14 October, Tveit called the award "timely and compelling".
"It is timely because we have just seen at first hand the human suffering and trauma of chemical weapons use in Syria. Today the victims of chemical weapons in Syria, Iran and other countries are recognized along with the organization set up to help end such tragedies," he said
Tveit went on to say that since World War II, member churches of the WCC have joined "people of good will and the vast majority of governments in calling for all weapons of mass destruction to be eliminated." Such bans, Tveit said, are an essential test of the international rule of law, which is a "test yet to be passed".
The Nobel Peace Prize for the OPCW, Tveit added, gives "hope that the same leading nations who responded so quickly when chemical weapons were used in Syria will begin to show similar leadership over their own nuclear arsenals which are the world's worst weapons, and which have still not been banned."
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, by the end of 2012 the WCC had 345 member churches representing more than 500 million Christians from Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other traditions in over 110 countries. The WCC works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.
