The manner in which Guterres fulfilled his mandate as UN High Commissioner for Refugees has been a source of inspiration and motivation for many in the international community and around the world, continued Tveit. "At a time in which the principles of international humanitarian and refugee law and policy - and the UN's capacity to respond to the dimensions of the forced displacement crisis - have been under unprecedented pressure, you gave principled, energetic and effective leadership to the UN refugee agency."

Guterres's humanitarian commitment to alleviating the suffering of the most vulnerable people, in particular refugees and those affected by conflict, and his commitment to gender equality will surely continue to be priorities for him during his tenure wrote Tveit. "And I am certain that your strong commitment to engagement with the faith community, as demonstrated in the UNHCR High Commissioner's Dialogue on Faith and Protection, will continue to be a feature of your leadership of the United Nations."

The World Council of Churches has worked for justice and peace alongside and in frequent collaboration with the United Nations since the formation of the respective organizations, Tveit noted. "Through its Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA), the WCC was one of the original non-governmental organizations in consultative relations with the United Nations, and contributed actively to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to other foundational processes."

Guterres, formerly prime minister of Portugal, will officially succeed Ban Ki-moon as UN secretary-general in January 2017.

Congratulatory Letter from the World Council of Churches to Mr Guterres