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The tenth rendition of the Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-based Organizations in International Affairs was held on 23 January in New York City, drawing more than 700 registered followers online;

Addressing the challenges for a common vision of churches on human rights today, the international conference “Christian Perspectives on Human Dignity and Human Rights” will take place on 9-12 April in Wuppertal, Germany. Everyone is invited to follow the public session of the conference on 11 April, when a panel of the keynote speakers will bring together biblical, theological and practical perspectives on human dignity.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) continues to amplify the voice of the indigenous Papuans in Indonesia, who are oppressed by racism and discrimination.

Concerned about the escalating crisis of violence, racism and discrimination against indigenous Papuans in Indonesia, a side event co-sponsored by the WCC was convened during a fall session of the UN Human Rights Council to discuss patterns that are oppressing and displacing Papuans.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) made a positive impact at the 41st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, held 24 June through 12 July.

The WCC has a long history of engagement with the United Nations human rights system, in witnessing and advocating for human dignity and justice on behalf of the worldwide ecumenical movement.

Kerlan Fanagel’s submission to the Human Rights Council (HRC), delivered on the council’s 10th anniversary, highlighted the plight of the Lumad in Mindanao, a group of people who have been displaced from their traditional lands in the southern Philippines.

The role of faith-based communities in the electoral process of the Democratic Republic of Congo was explored in depth at an event organized by the National Endowment for Democracy in collaboration with the WCC.

An international conference on peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has issued an invitation for churches and partners to establish “a suitable structure or process for the purpose of sharing and consolidation of existing initiatives by the churches and related organizations or networks, and in order to consider new ecumenical initiatives” in the DRC.

A major conference on peace and security in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), convened by the WCC, began on Wednesday its search for solutions to the DRC’s steepest challenges.

Amidst intimidation, illegal arrests, disappearances, torture and killings in Tanah Papua resulting from tensions between the Indonesian authorities and the Papuan pro-liberation groups, churches seek justice, peace, dignity and security for the Papuans.

Serious death threats to human rights defenders, many of them church leaders, have been made by a paramilitary group in Colombia. The WCC, among other international organizations has called on Colombian government to protect their lives.

Participants in a recent WCC consultation in Myanmar have stressed the need to equip churches and ecumenical organizations to build peace, human security and human dignity in order to move beyond conflicts, towards a world of peace.

A WCC team met last week with religious leaders and community members in northern Iraq to assess the situation of heightened violence and displacement due to attacks by militants of the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” (IS).

Human rights defenders from Bangladesh, gathered in a meeting sponsored by the WCC, are calling the international community’s attention to the severe persecution of Bangladesh’s religious and ethnic minorities.

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.

The WCC Executive Committee has expressed deep concern about the alarming increase in threats to human security in Latin America. The committee has called for renewed efforts by churches to ensure peaceful and just societies.

“Sixteen years after the signing of the peace accord in 1996, Guatemala is still struggling to overcome wide ranging issues that put the economic, political and social wellbeing of the country at risk,” noted a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation visiting Guatemala from 27 to 29 November.

A World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation on peace and human security in Latin America has adopted a communiqué demanding protection mechanisms that insure peace and human security in Latin America.

“Long years of civil war and import of weapons since the 1980s have created a difficult situation in Latin America, where it is challenging to prevent proliferation of arms”, stated Prof. Benjamin Cortes Marchena at a World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation in Antigua, Guatemala. Â

In a recent World Council of Churches (WCC) consultation, participants analyzed the impact of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in Africa’s sub-regions. They pointed out that more than sixty percent of deaths in battle-related conflicts are caused by small arms, and billions of dollars are spent every year on small arms.