Friday, March 13, 2026

Presbyterians for Earth Care - Canopy of Creation Webinar on Monday + Introducing PEC South Atlantic Regional Rep

WCC NEWS: Dialogue focuses on protecting human rights through combatting hate speech

A dialogue on 12 March, titled “Protecting Human Rights through Countering Hate Speech and Promoting Interreligious Dialogue,” presented as a side event to the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, focused on protecting human rights through combatting hate speech and promoting interfaith dialogue and cooperation. The gathering convened representatives from international organizations, diplomatic missions, religious leaders, and civil society to discuss practical approaches for responding to hate speech and fostering inclusive societies.
12 March 2026, the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations and International Organizations organised a side event during the 61st session of the Human Rights Council on “Protecting Human Rights through Countering Hate Speech and Promoting Interreligious Dialogue”. Photo: Grégoire de Fombelle/WCC
13 March 2026

The dialogue noted that hate speech is rapidly surging across the world, calling for effective measures by states, international organizations, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders, and the event served as a catalyst for international cooperation against hate speech through the promotion of intercultural and inter-religious dialogue.

Participants shared recommendations and best practices among states and stakeholders on positive measures to counter hate speech.

Peter Prove, World Council of Churches (WCC) director of international affairs, reflected that hate speech, discrimination, and violence are tragically part of daily life for far too many in WCC’s own member churches.

“First, we must acknowledge that religious language and symbols are sometimes misused to legitimize hatred and violence,” Prove said. “Second, we must recognize the immense positive potential of religious leaders and actors to reverse these dynamics, uphold human dignity and help build resilient, inclusive societies.” 

Prove highlighted the importance in this context of the “Plan of Action for Religious Leaders and Actors to Prevent Incitement to Violence that Could Lead to Atrocity Crimes” which was developed through broad consultations in which the WCC actively participated, convened by the UN Office on Genocide Prevention.

Ambassador António de Almeida Ribeiro, acting secretary general of the International Dialogue Centre (KAICIID), was among the other speakers in the event. He emphasized the pervasive impact of intolerance worldwide, stating, "Hate speech seeks to divide societies and weaken trust between communities. Our collective response must focus on dialogue, cooperation across sectors, and the promotion of fundamental values such as human dignity, solidarity, and mutual respect." 

He highlighted KAICIID's Fellows Programme, which unites over 500 leaders across 100 countries and multiple religious traditions, as a proactive measure in building long-term relationships and resilience.

The event also addressed the challenges posed by emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, underscoring the necessity for strengthened cooperation among states, technology companies, civil society, religious leaders, and international organizations to combat misinformation that fuels conflict and breeds hate among communities.

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The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.

Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press
Our visiting address is:
World Council of Churches
Chemin du Pommier 42
Kyoto Building
Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218
Switzerland

WCC news: WCC accompaniers safely evacuate from Holy Land—but their work continues

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel has safely evacuated its 11 accompaniers from their posts in the Holy Land, but they will continue their work from their home countries to accompany and document human rights violations and the voices of communities facing great challenges. 
Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC
13 March 2026

In their shortened time on the ground, the accompaniers—the 102nd such group to serve—observed specific incidents indicating pressing challenges to the Palestinian presence in Jerusalem and beyond. 

The evacuation amid escalating war is deeply painful for both the accompaniers themselves and the programme, said Iskandar Majlaton, programme coordinator for the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme Palestine and Israel.  

“Palestinian communities, already facing intensifying settler violence, land annexation, and systematic dispossession, are now left without the vital presence of international protective accompaniment,” said Majlaton. “Women and children continue to bear the heaviest burden of these violations, further compounded by Israeli government policies that erode their rights and futures.”

Majlaton called on the international community to act with urgency. “Their voices, and their presence, must not be silenced,” he said.

When the presence of accompaniment must withdraw, the responsibility of the world to protect human life becomes even greater, reflected Carla Khijoyan, WCC programme executive for peace building in the Middle East. “Every life lost, every child forced to grow up in fear, every family displaced from their home is a wound to our shared humanity,” she said. “Faith calls us to refuse the normalization of violence and the erosion of dignity. The cry of those who suffer must awaken the conscience of the international community to act with courage—for the protection of civilians, for justice, and for a peace that honors the dignity of every human being.”

A WCC campaign, “From Condemnation to Consequences,” running 4-31 March, is calling on states to hold Israel accountable for ending the illegal occupation of Palestine. 

Learn more about EAPPI

“From Condemnation to Consequences”  campaign

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The World Council of Churches' website
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.

Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press
Our visiting address is:
World Council of Churches
Chemin du Pommier 42
Kyoto Building
Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218
Switzerland

WCC News: African faith coalition weighs COP30 - and what comes next

Faith leaders, climate negotiators, and African civil society actors will gather virtually on 12 March around a question that has not gone away since the negotiations ended in Belém, Brazil: did COP30 actually deliver for Africa?
18 November 2025, Belém, Brazil: A group rallies for a just transition to renewable energy in Africa, at the United Nations climate summit COP30 taking place in Belém, Brazil, on 10-21 November 2025. Photo: LWF/Albin Hillert
11 March 2026

Organised by GreenFaith Africa and the All Africa Conference of Churches, with the World Council of Churches (WCC) as a partner, the Post-COP30 Interfaith Debrief and Strategic Planning Meeting will bring youth, women, Indigenous Peoples, theologians, and policymakers into a shared reckoning - weighing what was won, naming what was left unresolved, and forging a faith-grounded advocacy path toward COP31 and COP32.

The one-day virtual meeting opens at 11:00 EAT (09:00 CET / 08:00 GMT) under the theme "From Belém to Africa: Translating COP30 Outcomes into Faith-Led Climate Action for Africa." Rev. Dr. Lesmore Gibson Ezekiel, director of programmes at the All Africa Conference of Churches, will offer a keynote address on faith-centred climate leadership after COP30. Voices from Nigeria, Ghana, and Tanzania will bring testimony on oil spills, mining, and extractive industry damage, and pressing the harder question of whether COP30's loss and damage commitments reach anywhere near these communities' actual realities.

Rev. Henrik Grape, WCC senior advisor for Care for Creation, Sustainability, and Climate Justice, will represent the WCC, offering a reflection on the intersection of faith diplomacy and climate policy - and what the Belém outcomes genuinely mean for vulnerable communities and least developed countries.

"COP30 in Belém moved the dial on loss and damage financing, but for communities across Africa and other vulnerable regions who are living the consequences of a crisis they did little to create, commitments on paper must translate into justice on the ground," said Grape, WCC, one of the speakers. "Faith communities have a vital role to play - not simply as advocates, but as moral witnesses who refuse to let the world look away. As we move toward COP31 and COP32, the World Council of Churches stands in solidarity with African and multi-faith voices calling for a just transition rooted in care for people, the planet, and future generations."

The afternoon turns to the numbers and the negotiations: climate finance, gender and youth justice, the Global Goal on Adaptation, and what the Belém Action Mechanism genuinely means for African economies trying to move away from fossil fuels without being left behind. Commitments made in Belém remain only a beginning for communities bearing the heaviest climate burden with the lightest historical responsibility.

COP31 in Turkey and COP32 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2027 are closer than they seem. This meeting exists to draw lessons from Belém, sharpen African engagement with the group of negotiators, and make certain that African and multi-faith voices are not an afterthought when the next round of negotiations begins.

Register for the conversation here 

Ecumenical Decade of Climate Justice Action 

WCC COP30 coverage here

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The World Council of Churches on Facebook
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The World Council of Churches' website
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.

Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press
Our visiting address is:
World Council of Churches
Chemin du Pommier 42
Kyoto Building
Le Grand-Saconnex CH-1218
Switzerland

Presbyterians for Earth Care - Canopy of Creation Webinar on Monday + Introducing PEC South Atlantic Regional Rep

WEBINAR NEXT WEEK: Canopy of Creation: Trees, Faith, and the Work of Justice Drawing from Creation Justice Ministry’s  2026 Resource , Derri...