The World Council of Churches (WCC) is involved in many different aspects of the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council, currently convening in Geneva from 16 June to 9 July.
Faith-based groups, collaborating with their partners, including the World Council of Churches, will be advocating for digital justice at the “World Summit on Information Society +20,” to be hosted by the International Telecommunication Union from 7-11 July in Geneva.
A World Council of Churches (WCC) minute on the official US federal holiday of Juneteenth noted that the holiday not only celebrates the emancipation of formerly enslaved people of African descent in the US-North America context, but also “marks the memory of the broader global history/herstory of the transatlantic (‘Middle Passage’) extraction of African peoples and natural resources taken from Africa that still has consequences today, including the racialized impact of the debt and climate crisis.”
The Prophetic Witness for Life, Justice, and Peace Conference and Seminars concluded in Johannesburg on 16 June, marking a moment of reawakening and recommitment for church leaders and partners across southern Africa. Participants pledged to transform the insights and prophetic calling of their gathering into tangible action within their congregations, communities, and countries.
On 15 June, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Kairos Document and the 1976 Soweto Uprising, church leaders from across denominations and southern African countries embarked on a pilgrimage of reflection, lament, and discernment.
Participants in an ongoing “Prophetic Witness for Life, Justice, and Peace Conference” on 14 June in Johannesburg, South Africa, broke into seminars focusing on many facets of justice—climate, economic, racial, gender, and health.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) had input into the 49th Session of Universal Periodic Review, a process in which UN member states undergo a peer review of their human rights records.
Yvonne Apiyo Brändle-Amolo, in a keynote speech titled “The Global Persistence of Anti-Black Racism and Role of the Church,” on 19 May, analyzed the enduring issue of anti-Black racism rooted in historical legacies of slavery and colonialism.
An international conference, “Berlin 1884–1885 and Anti-Black Racism: In Search of a Shared Anti-Racist Ecumenical Vision,” acknowledged that the deep wounds of colonialism carved 140 years ago are by no means healed—but that churches can reframe relationships in a radical, de-colonial manner.
Commemorating the 140th anniversary of the 1884–1885 Berlin Conference that legitimized the colonial partitioning of Africa, this global event will confront the ongoing legacies of colonialism and systemic racism. At a time of growing polarization, the conference aims to offer an ecumenical and ethical framework of justice and solidarity.
140 years after the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, one of the most consequential geopolitical gatherings in modern history, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and ecumenical partners
An Armenian Heritage Conference, to be held in Bern, Switzerland, from 27-28 May, will address the consequences of the conflict in Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh with regard to the protection of Armenian religious and cultural heritage, the human rights of its people, and the future security of the Armenian nation.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) Africa Regional Programme Office, Abuja, in collaboration with the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, convened a two-day Human Rights Training Workshop for church leaders and partners from the Niger Delta.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) delivered a statement on the human rights situation of Armenian hostages at the 58th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
A side event to the UN Human Rights Council titled “Registration and Legal Status of Places of Worship: Negative Impacts on Religious Minorities” was co-organized by the World Evangelical Alliance, Anglican Communion, World Council of Churches (WCC), Open Doors International, and Stefanus Alliance in Geneva.
More than 107 faith-based groups—including the World Council of Churches—released a joint statement on 5 March entitled “Joint Interfaith Statement to the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
The Universal Periodic Review—a mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council that calls for each UN Member State to undergo a peer review of its human rights records every 5 years—of Angola and Madagascar took place on 23 and 27 January.
A World Council of Churches (WCC) staff visit took place from 12-21 January, aimed at empowering faith communities in Jamaica to take action on sexual and gender-based violence, racism, reparations, and climate justice.
Scholar Kristina Mantasasvili chose to focus her doctoral dissertation on work related to the World Council of Churches (WCC). She took time to reflect on what inspired her, the challenges she faced, and the hope she has for the growth of future visions.
A WCC staff visit will take place from 12-21 January, aimed at empowering faith communities in Jamaica to take action on sexual and gender-based violence, racism, reparations, and climate justice.
