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At the Second United Nations Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights, human rights defenders from Colombia and Guatemala exposed degrading environmental, ecological, economic and social impacts on indigenous communities. These impacts are consequences of the projects run by multinational companies in a number of countries.

Three human rights activists from indigenous communities in Guatemala and Colombia will present cases highlighting human rights violations by multinational corporations in their countries, including instances of land grabbing, at the Second United Nations Annual Forum on Business and Human Rights.

Politicization of religion, rights of religious minorities and stateless people, peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula and just peace served as subjects of the public statements adopted at the WCC 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea.

Human rights of indigenous peoples in Guatemala are under threat due to large scale extraction of natural resources and on-going encroachment on their lands. Their conflict with the state over these issues is now impacting their security, said Pablo Ceto, an indigenous community leader and a human rights activist from Ixil, Guatemala.

A three-day WCC consultation has featured diverse perspectives from Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe on the politicization of religion and how this phenomenon contributes to discrimination and persecution of religious minorities around the world.

Work for the rights of religious minorities should be done in the spirit of universalism, said the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in his opening address at a WCC consultation.

A WCC consultation in Geneva will facilitate dialogue on issues related to religious minorities and the politicization of religion, which contributes to discrimination and persecution of religious minorities around the world.

The Archives of the WCC in Geneva have provided both research materials and a space for public consideration of “the ecumenical movement and Cold War politics”.

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.

Churches and ecumenical groups urge European Union to raise questions with Pakistan government concerning religious intolerance and persecution of religious minorities there.

Talk about peace on the Korean peninsula part of discussions at ecumenical consultation on peace and security issues in Asia.

An international ecumenical consultation in Hong Kong is all set to examine issues of human security and peace with justice in Asia, especially in the context of recent geo-political developments in the Northeast Asia, with a special focus on the Korean peninsula.

The WCC general secretary has expressed solidarity with Bangladesh, and concern over recent tragedies in the country, including the loss of over a thousand lives in a garment factory accident near Dhaka, as well as increasing attacks against religious minorities.

With Zimbabwe and other African nations heading for elections in the coming months, churches in the region recently reflected on their role in strengthening democratic governance and electoral process.

In Tahiti, an ecumenical delegation was told about the need for re-inscription of French Polynesia (Maohi Nui) on the United Nations list of countries to be decolonized.

In a recent solidarity visit to Bangladesh, an ecumenical delegation was updated about the on-going persecution and attacks against religious minorities occurring in the country since early March of this year.

“Discrimination and statelessness live side by side; it is no coincidence that most stateless people belong to racial, linguistic and religious minorities,” read a recent communique issued at the end of a World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation on stateless people in Washington, D.C., United States.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation has urged protection for the rights of over 12 million stateless people around the world, encouraging  governments to ensure their basic human right to citizenship, adequate access to health care, education and employment.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will hold an international consultation on the rights of stateless people. The event will take place in Washington, D.C., and address the concerns of nearly 12 million stateless people around the world, who are not considered a national by any state.

Justice should not be secondary to peace, and both should go together, according to Dr Navanethem Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She made her comments in an encounter with the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC).