News
An ecumenical report and a call to action documenting human rights violations in the Philippines will be launched today in Geneva (Palais des Nations, Room XXVII, 14:00), within the framework of the current session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Submitting the report - entitled "Let the stones cry out!" - is an ecumenical delegation from the Philippines whose participation in the Human Rights Council's meeting is being sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).
The report "distills the collective cry for justice of thousands of Filipinos - including more than 800 victims of extra-judicial executions from the year 2001 to the present - who have suffered the brunt of violations of human rights under the Philippine government's counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism strategies".
It presents information on the violations and evidence of the complicity of government security forces, and discusses the historical, social, economic and political context in which the violations are committed, including a "culture of impunity".
An associated call to action is addressed to the UN Human Rights Council as well as to church and religious bodies in the international community and Philippines churches.
The launch of the report and a panel discussion with the members of the delegation is scheduled for 14:00 on 19 March at the Palais des Nations (Room XXVII).
The ecumenical delegation presenting the report (see list below) includes representatives of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), the Philippines Ecumenical Bishops' Forum, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, the Moro Christian People's Alliance as well as the US-based United Methodist Church.
The delegation will meet with the staff of the German mission to the UN, and will attempt to make oral interventions during the plenary sessions of the Human Rights Council on such topics as disappearances and Indigenous issues. It will also meet with staff of the WCC, LWF and other ecumenical organizations at the Ecumenical Centre.
Members of the ecumenical delegation
The Most Rev. Deogracias Iniguez, D.D. is a Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan, the Vice chairman of the Commission on Ecumenical Affairs of the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), co-chair of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF), and convenor of the Pilgrims for Peace.
Ms. Amirah Ali Lidasan is a Moro from Cotabato, in Mindanao, Southern Philippines. She is the secretary-general and co-founder of the Moro-Christian People's Alliance. She is also currently the national vice-chairperson of the Suara Bangsamoro Party-list. She is a convenor and active participant of the Initiatives for Peace in Mindanao, an interfaith organization of Christians, Muslims, and Lumads.
Fr. Rex R.B. Reyes is the program secretary of the Christian Unity and Ecumenical Relations of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. He is an Anglican priest and an indigenous person, an Igorot from the Cordillera.
Rev. Marma Urbano is a pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP). She is currently the executive director of the Institute for Religion and Culture.
Ms. Marie Hilao-Enriquez is the general secretary of KARAPATAN, a leading human rights advocacy and monitoring alliance group in the Philippines.
Sr. Maureen Catabian, RGS, is the Women and Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation coordinator of the Religious of the Good Shepherd.
The group is accompanied by Mr. James Winkler, general secretary of the US-based United Methodist Church - General Board of Church and Society, and Rev. Liberato Bautista, assistant general secretary for United Nations and International Affairs.
Media contact:
Theodor Rathgeber +41-79-471-1224
