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Colombian delegation calls upon international community to revive “vital support”

As a group of three laureates of the “National Human Rights Award in Colombia” engaged in meetings with diplomats and United Nations representatives in Geneva, a tray lunch event was organized on 8 June at the Ecumenical Centre by the World Council of Churches and ACT Alliance to offer the delegation the opportunity to share about the deterioration of the peace process in the country and the importance of international solidarity.

WCC joins UN statement on harrowing violations in Philippines

The World Council of Churches (WCC) joined the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, and United Methodist Church in a joint statement prepared for the 44th session of the Human Rights Council. The statement calls upon the Philippine government to end human rights violations. “We welcome the High Commissioner’s report on human rights in the Philippines,” reads the statement. “It accu-rately describes the harrowing violations committed by the government, which is continuing to ag-gravate the situation.”

Killer Robots? Moral questions pervade UN conference

The prospect of armed robots taking human lives, and whether to ban autonomous weapons before they are made, concentrated the minds of governmental and non-governmental delegates at a United Nations forum in Geneva in mid-April.

Human rights violations in Manipur highlighted at a WCC meeting

A group of activists from Manipur, India, visited the WCC headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland on 26 March, sharing accounts of human rights violations in their region and efforts to lobby against the Armed Forces Special Powers Act at the 25th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Consultation urges protection of human rights in Papua

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.

Churches ask Philippine government to improve human rights record

In a public hearing at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, church activists from the Philippines criticized the Aquino government for not being able to improve the situation regarding human rights violations, citing an increased number of victims of extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances, as well as evictions in the country. Â

A pastor testifies he was tortured in the Philippines

Claims made by the Philippines government to a good human rights track record "are utterly false", Rev. Berlin Guerrero told the United Nations Committee against Torture this week. A victim of torture himself, Guerrero said the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is "remiss in its responsibility to prevent torture".