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A court decision in the Dominican Republic annulling the citizenship of an estimated 200,000 Dominicans of Haitian ancestry has been strongly criticized by church leaders, including the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Challenged by Christians from Brazil to strive for greater respect for religious and cultural diversity, churches are reflecting together on the gospel of John as they celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The WCC Executive Committee has expressed deep concern over recent developments in the United States following the Grand Jury’s decision not to indict officer Darren Wilson in the killing of Michael Brown.

UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, this week invited 20 of its major partners from the private sector and civil society to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The WCC general secretary represented faith based-organizations at a high-level breakfast in New York hosted by the UN agency.

Indigenous peoples have a role to play in the struggle against climate change, indigenous faith leaders said during a panel at the Interfaith Summit on Climate Change held at the Church Center for the United Nations in New York City.

Os povos indígenas têm um papel importante a desempenhar na luta contra as mudanças climáticas, declararam líderes religiosos indígenas durante um painel da Conferência Inter-religiosa sobre Mudanças Climáticas, relizado no Centro de Igrejas para as Nações Unidas, em Nova Iorque.

Scattered throughout the recent history of Indigenous Peoples are national treaties, declarations and laws that languish in obscurity or are brushed aside and ignored.

Ao longo da história recente dos povos indígenas há diversos tratados, declarações e leis que acabaram definhando na obscuridade ou são simplesmente ignorados.

A set of recommendations advocating the rights of stateless persons was presented by a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation at the First Global Forum on Statelessness organized by the UNHCR and Tilburg University in The Hague, Netherlands.

To give visibility to the voices of stateless people in our society as well as to strategize together in how to support protection of their rights, a consultation was held by church organizations in Den Dolder, the Netherlands, in preparation of the UNHCR First Global Forum on Statelessness to be held from 15 to 17 September in The Hague.

WCC announced it will hold an Interfaith Summit on Climate Change in September in New York City.

Churches in the United States, including member churches of the WCC, have called on the Obama administration to open up a high-level dialogue with Cuba aimed at normalizing relations between the two countries.

In an ecumenical harvest, a spate of European and North American church bodies are entering agreements recognizing each other’s baptisms.

An “inter-generational dialogue on faith, culture, HIV and sexual reproductive health and rights” was initiated on 11 March in New York City by the World YWCA in partnership with the WCC and other international organizations. The dialogue was organized as a side event at the United Nations 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women.

The WCC Executive Committee has condemned the use of drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles saying that they pose “serious threats to humanity” and the “right to life” while setting “dangerous precedents in inter-state relations”.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been globally celebrated this year with prayers, reflections, ecumenical services and events focusing on Paul’s question in Corinthians 1 “Has Christ been divided?” a theme for this year’s prayer materials, prepared by the Canadian churches.

Migrants are reduced to mere commodities, traded and exchanged in the global market, according to a declaration issued by churches calling for an end to this gross violation of human dignity. The declaration was issued on the occasion of the Second United Nations High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development in New York City, USA.

World leaders at the United Nations last week backed two steps in relation to the Arms Trade Treaty, promoted by churches, to make people safer through new laws to control deadly weapons.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed condolences following the death of Brother Jeffrey Gros, recalling his significant contributions to Christian unity and ecumenical dialogue as a Catholic theologian.

Church leaders and government officials in Cuba have said that religious reforms introduced during the past two decades have improved religious policies in Cuba over earlier restrictive practices in place since 1959.