The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee has expressed worries about the "deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia and Eritrea", while encouraging the establishment of a "joint Christian and Muslim Peace Committee for Somalia".

In a statement on the situation in the Horn of Africa adopted at its 27 February - 2 March meeting in Bossey, near Geneva, the WCC governing body labels it as "the most troubled region of the continent" and expresses its "growing concern" about the "developments in this region of strategic importance".

The committee appeals to the international community "to focus its attention on Somalia and the Horn of Africa as a whole". The "present crisis" in the region, it says, "poses multiple challenges that have to be addressed by the international community, especially the UN Security Council, the African Union, the [seven-country regional] Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the League of Arab States".

The statement appeals to the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea to "foster dialogue with opposition political parties to establish democracy, human rights and the rule of law".

It reiterates that the UN and donor countries should impress upon those governments the need to "reengage in efforts to resolve their long-standing border dispute in a peaceful and amicable manner".

The WCC governing body praises the "religious communities in Ethiopia, Eritrea and the wider ecumenical fellowship" for their efforts to help resolve the border dispute between the two countries. It also commends the churches and related agencies for their "witness and response to the crisis" in the region.

In cooperation with the All Africa Conference of Churches, the WCC is called upon to "encourage and facilitate the establishment of a joint Christian and Muslim Peace Committee for Somalia", the statement says.

"While it may be incorrect to reduce the conflict to a mere contest between 'Islamist' Somalia and 'Christian' Ethiopia, this religious appendage appeals to both sides in terms of gaining patronage and favour of Muslim and Christian groups inside and outside the region," it adds.

The WCC executive committee "calls for support for the people of Somalia displaced by the conflict, who are in dire need of humanitarian assistance and security". It praises Action by Churches Together (ACT) International for its assistance to them as well as Somalia's Transitional Federal Government for its "efforts to bring services to the people of Somalia and to build the institutions that are needed".

In response to a multinational Peace Support Mission to Somalia, which has been supported by the African Union and the UN Security Council and is expected to have 8,000 troops in the country, the WCC governing body expresses "appreciation for the commitments of troops that have already been made". It also calls upon "other countries in Africa to follow suit".