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The Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) has issued a statement unequivocally condemning torture against civilians in Papua, following the emergence of videos which appear to show the violent mistreatment of indigenous Papuans by members of Indonesian armed forces.

During a consultation entitled “Papuan People Speak Up,” held 10-12 December, director of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs Peter Prove offered a message celebrating this show of unity in a time of division. 

At a Peace Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, hosted by the United Evangelical Mission (UEM) and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI), Peter Prove, director of the World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, participated as a panel speaker during a session on ““Global Challenges and Perspective for Interfaith Action” on 21 November.

Human Rights Monitor, a human rights organisation focusing on West Papua, Indonesia, has just released a report titled "Destroy Them First, Discuss Human Rights Later: An investigation of Indonesian Security Forces’ operations in Kiwirok under International Law.”

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay met with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, discussing peace initiatives across the globe—and the role of the WCC and South African leaders.

Church leaders in Papua, in a position statement directed toward government officials, said “the current situation is a human tragedy,” expressed grave concern about extrajudicial killings and other violence, and called for immediate measures for a sustainable peace.

In a recent report, WCC partner Human Rights Monitor expressed grave concern as Indonesian security forces intensify operations in West Papua.

A Human Rights Monitor report has found that more than 60,000 internally displaced persons in West Papua remain without government aid.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) has facilitated churches’ engagement in a wide range of critical issues of the world since the last WCC Assembly in Busan, concluded the 58th meeting of the WCC CCIA, gathering church representatives in Johannesburg and online in the 75th anniversary year of the Commission’s creation.

A 12 July statement from the South African Council of Churches notes with deep concern the violence and destruction of property that is engulfing the nation. “This violence is resulting in untold suffering,” the statement reads.

As the people of Maohi (French Polynesia) are remembering the seventh year of their re- inscription on the United Nations decolonisation list, the Pacific Conference of Churches, in a 19 June statement, called on France to act with justice.

In a statement to the president of the Republic of Indonesia, Papuan religious leaders are urging justice for seven defendants on trial in the Balikpapan - East Kalimantan District Court who held a demonstration because they were rejecting racist treatment. “But the indictments and charges at the trial were very different from the data and facts in the field,” reads the statement. “They are victims of racism but they have been accused of treason.”

In a video greeting, WCC acting general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca offered warm greetings to the Communion of Churches in Indonesia on its 70th anniversary.