Church leaders in Papua, in a position statement directed toward government officials, said “the current situation is a human tragedy,” expressed grave concern about extrajudicial killings and other violence, and called for immediate measures for a sustainable peace.
As many communities worldwide battle to get food to the table, a World Council of Churches (WCC) webinar titled ‘Racism, Land and Food' highlighted the intersections of food, land, and racial injustices on food sovereignty over generations of dispossessed groups.
For the people of the Indonesian province of West Papua, human rights have significantly deteriorated throughout 2019 and 2020, as demonstrated by the latest biennial report issued by the International Coalition for Papua. In this context, the West Papuan Council of Churches issued a moral call to the international community on behalf of their people.
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 general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit is gravely concerned by the deteriorating situation in West Papua (the Indonesian provinces of Papua and Papua Barat), especially in light of reports from church partners in the territory that peaceful anti-racism demonstrations by Papuan students have been attacked with lethal force by Indonesian military forces and armed settler militias. In other places we have learned about horizontal violence between Papuans and non-indigenous residents.
Behind Bali’s luxury hotels, sandy beaches and lush landscapes pampering tourists from all around the world, one finds a heartbreaking poverty, and its most vulnerable victims are children.
In the small village of Kaliki, men, women and children are on their feet, dancing, accompanied by drum rolls, as an international World Council of Churches (WCC) Pilgrim Team arrives. The pilgrims are given intricately-woven crowns of grass and flowers and their faces are painted with traditional patterns.
The 56th meeting of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission of the Churches on International Affairs took place in Bali, Indonesia, on 24 – 28 February, discussing many of the most critical concerns of churches in the region and around the world.
