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.
During a visit to Angola held 21-28 January, World Council of Churches (WCC) staff met with local church and community leaders to discuss how preventing obstetric fistula is a matter of human rights.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is mourning the loss and celebrating the life of Rev. Dr Jose Belo Chipenda, an African theologian and ecumenical leader.
Chipenda passed away on 10 January in Canada at the age of 95.
The situation for people in Myanmar—including more than one million ethnic Rohingyas—is increasingly concerning, as expressed in the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee minute.
The World Kachin Congress released a statement expressing deep concern over “the unlawful and arbitrary arrest” of their faith leader, Rev. Dr Hkalam Samson, by the Tatmadaw (Burmese Army).
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.
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.
The World Council of Churches joined dozens of other faith-based and humanitarian groups in signing a Global Civil Society Statement on Myanmar urging the United Nations Security Council to impose a comprehensive global arms embargo on Myanmar to help prevent further violations of human rights against peaceful protesters and others opposing military rule.
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.
The World Council of Churches and the Christian Conference of Asia, in a joint statement, expressed distress and concern over the disturbing trend of continued lethal action against the people by the Myanmar military.
The Council of Churches of Malaysia is urging the authorities not to participate in the “disavowing of refugees” amid the government’s plan to deport 1,200 Myanmar nationals, in coordination with the Myanmar military.
In a pastoral letter to churches and communities in Myanmar, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and Christian Conference of Asia expressed both alarm and great sadness for recent developments in Myanmar.
Rev. Dr Angelique Walker-Smith is senior associate for Pan African and Orthodox Church Engagement at Bread for the World. She also serves on the World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee. She recently participated in a rally and march in Washington, DC, where thousands gathered to commemorate the 57th anniversary of the March on Washington in 1963 that included Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have A Dream" speech.
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.
The Ecumenical Women's Assembly recently ended a weeklong meeting in Taiwan with calls to repent from greed and for Asian women to become advocates and catalysts of reconciliation, renewal, and restoration in the world, communities, and in churches.
