The World Council of Churches, in an intervention before the UN Human Rights Council, called upon the UN to ensure that counter-terrorism laws and practices, including efforts to combat terrorism financing, do not unjustly curtail the legitimate activities of civil society organizations, impede civic space, or hinder humanitarian endeavors in the Philippines.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed great concern in the wake of a 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the northern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines on 27 July.
A medida que la pandemia de COVID-19 se atenúa lentamente, persisten sus graves consecuencias sobre la vida de las personas, en toda Asia y en el resto del mundo. Además del sufrimiento y de la trágica pérdida de vidas provocados por el virus, las esperanzas en un futuro mejor se han visto truncadas por el aislamiento social, la recesión económica, el aumento del desempleo y la pobreza.
Währen die COVID-19-Pandemie langsam abebbt, bleiben ihre tiefen Auswirkungen auf das Leben der Menschen überall in Asien und auf der ganzen Welt. Zusätzlich zu den Leiden und dem tragischen Verlust vom Menschenleben durch das Virus selbst wurden auch die Hoffnungen auf eine bessere Zukunft durch soziale Isolation, ökonomische Rezession, steigende Arbeitslosigkeit und Armut verdunkelt.
La pandémie de COVID-19 s’éloigne peu à peu, mais ses profondes répercussions sur la vie des populations, elles, persistent à travers l’Asie et dans le reste du monde. Aux souffrances et pertes tragiques de vies humaines imputées au virus viennent s’ajouter l’isolement social, la récession économique, la flambée du chômage et la hausse de la pauvreté qui minent les espoirs d’un avenir meilleur.
As the COVID-19 pandemic slowly fades, its severe impact on people’s lives lingers on throughout Asia and the rest of the world. In addition to the sufferings and tragic losses of lives caused by the virus, hopes for a brighter future have been dimmed by social isolation, economic recession, increased unemployment and poverty.
At a Peace for Life consultation in the Philippines on 18 February, World Council of Churches (WCC) deputy general secretary Prof. Dr Isabel Apawo Phiri delivered a message from the WCC that focused on peace, justice and human rights.
World Council of Churches (WCC) director of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs Peter Prove presented, via video message, an intervention at an “International Ecumenical Solidarity Gathering for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines” held 7 October.
At a 28 July ecumenical briefing on INVESTIGATE PH’s “Second Report of the Independent International Commission of Investigation Into Human Rights Violations in the Philippines,” religious leaders discussed their renewed commitment to act in solidarity with people in the Philippines whose human rights are increasingly in peril.
The World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs delivered two statements to the 47th session of United Nations Human Rights Council, being held 21 June-21 July.
World Council of Churches acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca expressed deep alarm at the recent decision of the Japanese government to approve the release of tritium-contaminated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.
As human rights violations worsen in the Philippines, religious leaders there are urging global solidarity for their increasingly urgent quest for justice.
As a report on human rights abuses in the Philippines was delivered to the UN by the global group Investigate PH, churches and human rights groups reiterated their concerns over propagation of a culture that allows the abuse to happen.
Rev. Prof. Dr Fernando Enns, on behalf of the World Council of Churches (WCC), presented a prayer in an interfaith setting during the 7th Global Interreligious Conference on Article 9 of the Japanese Peace Constitution, held 9 March in Okinawa.
The National Christian Council in Japan, in a “Statement Regarding the Enactment of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,” expresses a “strong sense of disappointment that we have arrived at this point with the Japanese government neither approving nor ratifying” the treaty.
Am 6. August hat die interreligiöse Gruppe eine „Gemeinsame Erklärung anlässlich des 75. Jahrestages der Atombombenabwürfe über Hiroshima und Nagasaki“ veröffentlicht und darin erneut auf die existenzielle Bedrohung der Menschheit durch Atomwaffen hingewiesen.