As several parts of Asia experience and witness armed conflicts and violence, Churches cannot remain as mere spectators. In many parts of Asia, churches live in the midst of fighting between armed forces, insurgent groups or militant outfits that causes many deaths including that of civilians and armed forces. South Asia (Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) alone accounted for two-thirds of the world’s total battle deaths from state-based armed conflict. The region had four times as many battle deaths as the next deadliest region, sub-Saharan Africa. Terrorism and counter-terrorism have also been taking the lives of hundreds of people, especially in South Asia. During the past several years, hundreds of drone strikes in Pakistan have killed thousands of innocent people. Economic, political, developmental, religious, ethnic and social factors contribute to most conflicts and violence in South Asia. Armed insurgency is widespread in different South and South East Asian countries. The influx of small arms and narcotics are considered as major reasons for conflicts and violence in some Asian countries. In certain other contexts, the issue of greater autonomy and reorganization of the state or provincial structures are demanded on the ethnic line.

The nature of armed conflicts in certain other contexts concern the power sharing incompatibility over territory and governance as well as exploitation of natural resources by Private, State sponsored or Multinational Companies. When control over natural resources by local and multinational companies force local communities to leave, the original owners of the land are driven out from their ancestral land. Indigenous communities in several countries in Asia are mostly affected by this. In response to such contexts and situations, Asian churches and Councils have to affirm that peace-building is a shared responsibility of the churches that believe in the values of peace, compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation. Churches being a minority in most Asian countries need to be supported in their mission of peace building which should be carried out by churches in close cooperation with other faith communities and civil society organizations.

In the next five years CCA will be engaged in equipping the churches to become effective prophetic voices of reconciliation and peace-building in local situations of conflicts. Ecumenical initiatives and Inter-faith collaboration in building sustainable peace for moving beyond conflicts will be encouraged and promoted through various programs in the coming years.