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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. 

El Comité Central del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) publicó una declaración sobre la situación de los derechos humanos en Filipinas.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee released a statement on the human rights situation 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.

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.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) expressed solidarity with the people and churches of Lebanon on the anniversary of the explosion in Beirut that killed more than 200 people, injured thousands, and has left the whole nation still coping with the trauma and economic fallout.

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.

Damaris, a Nigerian woman, described her experience of 2020: “We’ve gone through hell.”

Damaris and her sisters were kidnapped in March 2020 and threatened with death as their kidnappers demanded money. Her father had to sell everything and beg on the streets to meet their demands. “We are just a common people in Nigeria,” she said. “We don’t know what we did.”

A webinar hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) on 26 November will explore “Conflict Zones and Covid-19: A call to compassion.” Speakers from Cameroon, Nigeria, South Sudan, Lebanon, Belarus and Colombia will offer their insights on how conflict exacerbates the conditions for contracting and treating COVID-19 among civilians caught in the crossfire, especially women.

As Rev. Dan San Andres Sr, known as a defender of human rights, was arrested a week after the controversial Anti-Terrorism Act was passed in the Philippines, the World Council of Churches (WCC) joined with the bishops of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) in calling for justice.

Dr Souraya Bechealany is secretary general of the Middle East Council of Churches. On 26 March, the WCC and Regional Ecumenical Organizations released a historic joint pastoral statement affirming the urgency of standing together to protect life amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The WCC has since been gathering viewpoints from diverse regions about the importance of taking care of our one human family.

La Dra. Souraya Bechealany es secretaria general del Consejo de Iglesias de Oriente Medio. El 26 de marzo, el CMI y las organizaciones ecuménicas regionales emitieron una histórica declaración pastoral en la que afirmaban la urgencia de unirse para proteger la vida ante la pandemia de COVID-19. Desde entonces, el CMI ha ido recopilando los puntos de vista de las diversas regiones sobre la importancia de cuidar de nuestra familia humana, que es una sola.

As more and more people in the Philippines lose their loved ones to extrajudicial killings, and are falsely accused of crimes by the authorities, the World Council of Churches (WCC) is increasing its support and accompaniment of people fighting for human rights in the Philippines.
On 16 September, concerned colleagues and guests gathered in the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva to attend an event entitled: “Defending the Sanctity of Life and Dignity of Creation: The Human Rights Situation in the Philippines”. The event gave a platform to four different speakers from victim, human rights and church perspectives.

Eighteen leaders from the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Disability Advocates Network met in Beirut, Lebanon on 3-5 July, to addresses concerns in the region and to evaluate the strategic plan.