WCC news: Pacific Conference of Churches will continue to reweave the ecological mat

Photo: Albin Hillert/WCC 24 July 2025 “We therefore renew our call, echoed at last month’s UN Ocean Conference, for an immediate moratorium on all seabed‑mining activity,” reads the statement. “If a healthy environment is a human right, then rivers, forests, mountains, and the ocean must be recognised as rights‑bearing entities.” Pacific Indigenous leadership is already blazing this trail, notes the statement. “In 2024, Māori, Tahitian, Tongan, and Cook Islands leaders signed He Whakaputanga Moana, a treaty granting whales legal personhood, so their suffering can be challenged in court,” reads the text. “Aotearoa‑New Zealand’s Te Awa Tupua Act 2017 has long recognised the Whanganui River as a legal person with enforceable rights.” These examples show how the International Court of Justice’s language can be translated into statute. “Pollution or ecological damage by any actor must trigger prosecution and full restoration,” reads the statement.  “Let us heed the Tuākoi ‘Lei summons to good‑neighbourly love by protecting creation, repairing injustice, and embracing a just transition worthy of our children,” concludes the statement. “The Pacific drum has sounded—may its rhythm guide the world towards an Ocean of Peace where peoples and planet flourish together.” Read the full statement International Court of Justice delivers ruling on States’ obligations in relation to climate change (WCC news release, 24 July 2025) See more

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