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.
A consultation in Geneva termed political dialogue as the only way towards peace and stability in Tanah Papua, a province of Indonesia. The region has remained the focus of tensions between the Indonesian authorities and the Papuan indigenous people for years – resulting in grave human rights violations.
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.
