The executive committee of the World Council of Churches has approved a new date for the WCC 11th Assembly, which will now be held in Karlsruhe, Germany, from August 31 to September 8, 2022.
Initially planned for 2021, the event was postponed by one year because of the gravity and uncertainties related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the WCC said.
“Inspired by the theme ‘Christ’s love moves the world to reconciliation and unity,’ our fellowship will come together as a whole in prayer and celebration in Karlsruhe,” said Rev. Ioan Sauca, interim WCC general secretary.
“Being the most diverse Christian gathering of its size in the world, the assembly will be a unique opportunity for the churches to deepen their commitment to visible unity and common witness,” Sauca said.
“We will draw renewed energy for the WCC’s work far beyond the event itself.”
Bishop Petra Bosse-Huber, from the Evangelical Church in Germany, said that the host churches welcomed the WCC’s acceptance of a renewed invitation to hold the 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe.
The assembly symbol was presented to the WCC executive committee on July 27.
The WCC said the design was inspired by the dynamic expressions and variety of the ecumenical movement in its search for Christian unity and promotion of justice and peace.
The symbol has a cross, a dove, and a circle alluding to the concept of reconciliation. It has crossed paths representing the various journeys, movement, freedom, and vibrancy of life that drive the WCC and its churches worldwide.
The WCC brings together churches, denominations, and church organizations in more than 110 countries and territories throughout the world, representing over 500 million Christians as it strives for gobal Christian unity.
It includes most of the world’s Orthodox churches and Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist and Reformed churches, and many United and Independent churches.
Marco Respinti, Director of Bitter Winter reports that it has already introduced to its readers the new book by its editor-in-chief Massimo Introvigne, Inside The Church of Almighty God: The Most Persecuted Religious Movement in China, published in 2020 by Oxford University Press. In this video book trailer, its author Massimo Introvigne explains some key features of the book.
Joining the presentation are fellow scholars J. Gordon Melton (Baylor University, Waco, Texas), Holly Folk (Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington), and Bernadette Rigal-Cellard (University of Bordeaux, France) who discuss how this new study by Introvigne emphasizes little-known aspects of this persecuted Chinese Christian movement.
Many members of this movement have flown into Europe escaping alleging repression and government violence and are having problems to get the status of refugees granted and this is why Rosita Šoryté, president of the International Observatory of Religious Liberty of Refugees (ORLIR), comments on the book’s possible use on asylum cases.
(Image by Studio Incendo via Wikimedia Commons)Hong Kong anti-extradition bill protest, August 18, 2019.
Myanmar’s Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, a regional Catholic Church One of Asia’s most prominent has criticized China’s new security law in Hong Kong saying it “destroys the city’s high degree of autonomy.”
Bo is the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences and called for all people in Asia to pray for Hong Kong and China “with great insistence.”
“I am concerned that the law poses a threat to basic freedoms and human rights in Hong Kong.
“This legislation potentially undermines freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, media freedom and academic freedom. Arguably, freedom of religion or belief is put at risk,” he said, the Catholic publication Crux reported July 2.
Conversely, the Anglican Archbishop of Hong Kong, Paul Kwong, has backed the new security law introduced by China.
He said that international criticism of the law, which gives the state wide-ranging powers to suppress opposition, is not an expression “of Christian charity but of anti-China sentiment.”
‘SERIOUS VIOLATION OF ACCORD’
The UK Government has described the new law as a “clear and serious violation” of the terms under which it handed Hong Kong back to China. It has offered three million Hong Kong residents a path to British citizenship.
Archbishop Kwong defended the law in a strongly worded letter to the Church Timesnewspaper.
He wrote that he welcomes the new national security law, “although it is one that I wish were not necessary” and insisted it will not threaten religious freedom.
For his part, Bo, in his July 1 statement said China’s action “brings a most significant change to Hong Kong’s constitution and is offensive to the spirit and letter of the 1997 handover agreement” with the United Kingdom.
The 1984 Joint Declaration signed by Britain and China on the handover of Hong Kong said that the city would have its own special status.
That accord preserved the freedoms Hong Kong had under British sovereignty after it was transferred to China, creating the “one country, two systems” policy.
The new security law came into effect on June 30 and outlaws secessionist, subversive and terrorist acts, as well as any collusion with foreign powers in interfering in the city’s affairs.
It allows suspects to be sent to stand trial in mainland China if Beijing deems that it has jurisdiction.
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says the Beijing-imposed legislation “is a clear and serious violation” of the 1984 agreement.
Cardinal Bo said that while a national security law “is not in itself wrong,” he said “such legislation should be balanced with protection of human rights, human dignity and basic freedoms.”
“Hong Kong is one of the jewels of Asia, a ‘Pearl of the Orient,’ a crossroads between East and West, a gateway to China, a regional hub for free trade and until now has enjoyed a healthy mixture of freedom and creativity,” the cardinal said.
“The imposition of the law by China’s National People’s Congress seriously weakens Hong Kong’s Legislative Council and Hong Kong’s autonomy. It radically changes Hong Kong’s identity,” he added.
Bo noted that that religious institutions on Mainland China are “suffering the most severe restrictions experienced since the Cultural Revolution.”
“Even if freedom of worship in Hong Kong is not directly or immediately affected, the new security law and its broad criminalization of ‘subversion,’ ‘secession’ and ‘colluding with foreign political forces’ could result, for example, in the monitoring of religious preaching,” the cardinal said.
It could result in the criminalization of candlelit prayer vigils, and the harassment of places of worship that offer sanctuary or sustenance to protesters.
ARCHBISHOP SUPPORTS NEW LAW
Anglican archbishop Kwong said that he supports the right to peaceful protest.
But in his letter he said months of “wider violence”, which Hong Kong’s legislature had failed to quell, had made the law “necessary for our wellbeing”.
The rioters had committed acts “which cannot be tolerated in any country”.
European Union Minister for Foreign Affairs Joseph Borrell said in a statement last week that the EU took stock of serious challenges to Hong Kong’s autonomy, stability and freedoms over the past year: “[W]e will not simply stand back and watch as China attempts to curtail these freedoms even more, with its imposition of the draconian national security law.”
“It is in the whole world’s interest that Hong Kong can thrive both as a part of China and as a vibrant and unique international business center and crossroad of cultures based on its high degree of autonomy as enshrined in the Basic Law.”
The WorLd Environment Day Program was held on 9th June 12.00 pm onward EU TIME for three hours. There were 12 speakers from different countries. The inaugural address was given by Her Highness First Vice President of European Parliament Ms Mairaid McGuiness. She highlighted the Biodiversity strategy being followed by Europe to restore the Environmental Challenges. Her Grace Sister Jayanti talked on the Three Basic Principles of Non-Violence, Compassion & Respect which can bring inner peace. All the speakers highlighted how to safeguard our environment in different ways. This was broadcasted live on HFE Facebook, website and YouTube.
I sincerely thank you all for being with Hindu Forum Europe and encouraging us to engage in Nature-friendly & social activities.
Inequality, an issue which “defines our time”, risks destroying the world’s economies and societies, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a hard-hitting speech on Saturday.
Mr. Guterres was delivering the 2020 Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture, held online for the first time, in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The lecture series, held annually by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, on the birthday of the first democratically-elected President of South Africa, aims to encourage dialogue by inviting prominent personalities to discuss major international challenges.
Mr. Guterres began by noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has played an important role in highlighting growing inequalities, and exposing the myth that everyone is in the same boat, because “while we are all floating on the same sea, it’s clear that some are in superyachts, while others are clinging to the drifting debris.”
While we are all floating on the same sea, it’s clear that some are in superyachts while others are clinging to the drifting debris – António Guterres, Secretary-General, United Nations
Global risks ignored for decades – notably inadequate health systems, gaps in social protection, structural inequalities, environmental degradation, and the climate crisis – have been laid bare, he said. The vulnerable are suffering the most: those living in poverty, older people, and people with disabilities and pre-existing conditions.
Mr. Guterres pointed out that inequality take many forms. Whilst income disparity is stark, with the 26 richest people in the world holding as much wealth as half the global population, it is also the case that life-chances depend on factors such as gender, family and ethnic background, race and whether or not a person has a disability.
However, he noted that everyone suffers the consequences, because high levels of inequality are associated with “economic instability, corruption, financial crises, increased crime and poor physical and mental health.”
The legacy of colonialism and patriarchy
UN Photo/Evan SchneiderProtests have been occurring daily in New York City against racism and police violence, following the death of George Floyd.
Colonialism, a historic aspect of inequality, was evoked by the Secretary-General. Today’s anti-racist movement, he said, points to this historic source of inequality: “The Global North, specifically my own continent of Europe, imposed colonial rule on much of the Global South for centuries, through violence and coercion.”
This led to huge inequalities within and between countries, including the transatlantic slave trade and the apartheid regime in South Africa, argued Mr. Guterres, and left a legacy of economic and social injustice, hate crimes and xenophobia, the persistence of institutionalized racism, and white supremacy.
Mr. Guterres also referred to patriarchy, another historic inequality which still resonates: women everywhere are worse off than men, and violence against women is, he said, at epidemic levels.
The UN chief, who described himself as a proud feminist, said he was committed to gender equality, and has made gender parity a reality across senior UN posts. He also announced his appointment of South African international rugby captain, Siya Kolisa, as a global champion for the Spotlight Initiative, which aims to engage men in fighting violence against women and girls.
‘Everyone must pay their fair share’ of tax
Turning to contemporary inequality, Mr. Guterres said that the expansion of trade, and technological progress, have contributed to “an unprecedented shift in income distribution”. Low-skilled workers are bearing the brunt, he warned, and face an “onslaught” from new technologies, automation, the offshoring of manufacturing and the demise of labour organizations.
Meanwhile, he continued, widespread tax concessions, tax avoidance and tax evasion, as well as low corporate tax rates, mean that there are reduced resources for social protection, education, and healthcare – services that play an important part in reducing inequality.
Some countries have allowed the wealthy and well-connected to benefit from tax systems, but “everyone must pay their fair share”, said Mr. Guterres, and governments need to tackle the “vicious cycle” of corruption, which weakens social norms and the rule of law, and shift the tax burden from payrolls to carbon, which would help to address the climate crisis.
A New Global Deal
UNICEF/UN0143514/Karel PrinslooA student learns with the help of a computer tablet provided by UNICEF at a school in Baigai, northern Cameroon, Tuesday 31 October 2017.
Although climate change is a global problem, the effects are felt most keenly by those countries which are least to blame. The issue is likely to become more pronounced in the coming years, and millions risk malnutrition, malaria and other diseases; forced migration, and extreme weather events.
The only way towards a fair and sustainable future for all, he suggested, involves what he called a “New Social Contract”, which allows young people to live in dignity; women to have the same prospects and opportunities as men; and protects the vulnerable, and a “New Global Deal”, which ensures that power, wealth and opportunities are shared more broadly and fairly at the international level.
As part of the New Social Contract, labour market policies would be based on constructive dialogue between employers and workers, and would ensure human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Secretary-General called for new social safety nets, including universal health coverage, the possibility of universal basic income, boosted investment in public services, and, to reverse long-standing inequalities, affirmative action programmes and other policies to address inequalities in gender, race or ethnicity.
The UN chief explained that quality education for all, and the effective use of digital technology, will be crucial to achieving these aims. This would mean doubling education spending in low and middle-income countries by 2030 to $3 trillion a year: within a generation, all children in low- and middle-income countries could have access to quality education at all levels.
Governments also need to transform the way children are taught, said Mr. Guterres, and invest in digital literacy and infrastructure, and help them to prepare for a rapidly changing workplace that is being upended by technology.
The Secretary-General outlined some of the ways that the UN is supporting these efforts, including The Roadmap for Digital Cooperation, launched at the United Nations in June, which promotes ways to connect four billion people to the Internet by 2030, and “Giga”, an ambitious project to get every school in the world online.
‘We stand together, or we fall apart’
The UN chief ended his major strategic vision statement, by invoking the importance of international cooperation and solidarity. “We belong to each other”, he said. “We stand together, or we fall apart”.
The world, he concluded, is at breaking point, and it is time for leaders to decide which path to follow. The choice presented by Mr. Guterres, is between “chaos, division and inequality”, or righting the wrongs of the past and moving forward together, for the good of all.
EURONEWS – CD Aves, A Portuguese football team has become the latest victim of the harsh economic reality of the coronavirus pandemic with other football clubs in Europe also fighting to stay afloat.
CD Aves, which is based in northern Portugal, has seen players leave after it was unable to pay their salaries on time.
Just two years after the high of winning the Portuguese Cup, the club is now going through a huge financial and institutional crisis.
It has now been announced that it won’t be able to play the last game of the season in Portimão.
Aves is already relegated but the match is decisive for Portimonense and the other clubs involved in the relegation battle.
Club and SAD, the company that runs professional football, don’t see eye to eye and the COVID-19 pandemic has only complicated an already difficult situation.
In France, Ligue 1 side Bordeaux is also at open war with its majority shareholder.
The situation of the historic club has seen thousands of supporters take to the streets in protest and was a campaign issue in the last local election.
For now, the “Girondins” have been saved by a last-minute investment but the management has already warned that austerity is here to stay.
It seems to be an inevitable path in European football as more clubs face the new economic reality of the pandemic.
Even at FC Barcelona, the club with the highest payroll in world football, the crisis is making itself felt. Its bright constellation of stars has suffered a 70 percent wage cut during the suspension of La Liga, Spain‘s top tier league.
A Uighur woman with her children at the Unity New Village in western China’s Xinjiang region: APChina is facing mounting global criticism over its treatment of the Uighur population in Xinjiang province – with claims of forced labour camps and mass sterilisation.
Boris Johnson’s government has accused Beijing of “egregious” human rights abuses against the minority group, while Donald Trump’s administration has imposed sanctions on Chinese officials linked to alleged oppression.
So who are the Uighurs? And what sort of evidence lies behind these claims? The Independent took a closer look at a group largely forgotten by the world until recent weeks.
Who are the Uighur people?
The Uighur are an ethnic minority group of Muslims living in China’s north-west region of Xinjiang. There are an estimated 11 million Uighurs in the region – almost half of its total population.
Uighur Muslims have been there for hundreds of years and speak a language related to Turkish. It is believed their ancestors may have come from a previous homeland of the Turks in the northern part of central Asia.
Some Uighurs don’t accept that Xinjiang – officially an “autonomous region” – is part of China, citing evidence that their ancestors lived in the area before Chinese Han and Tang dynasties established their dominion in the area.
What sort of abuse is thought to be taking place?
There is credible evidence that up to one million Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are being held in “re-education” detention centres in Xinjiang, according to a report by the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Beijing has denied any mistreatment – claiming that these camps are “vocational training centres” which help stamp out extremism by Islamist separatists, as well as giving people new skills.
A man driving a vehicle in an Uighur neighbourhood in Aksu, Xinjiang province (AFP via Getty Images)However, a 2018 report by Amnesty International report found that arbitrary detention of Uighur Muslims across the province was widespread. The exile group World Uyghur Congress claims detainees are held without charge, and forced to undergo attempted indoctrination by shouting Chinese Communist Party slogans.
When recently confronted with disturbing video footage showing blindfolded men kneeling and waiting to be led onto trains in Xinjiang, China’s ambassador to the UK told the BBC the video could be “fake”. The video was authenticated by the Australian security services.
What’s behind the claims of ‘mass sterilisation’?
There is evidence Chinese government is taking draconian measures to slash birth rates among Uighurs as part of a sweeping campaign to curb its Muslim population.
A report released in June by China scholar Adrian Zenz claimed the Chinese authorities were forcing Uighur women to be sterilised or fitted with contraceptive devices across Xinjiang.
A recent Associated Press investigation discovered women in the province have faced fines and threats of detention for breaching limits on having babies. It also found the authorities force intrauterine devices (IUDs), sterilisation and even abortion on Uighur women.
Protesters attend a rally in Hong Kong to show support for the Uighur minority in China (AFP/Getty)What political action has been taken?
The US has imposed sanctions on Chinese officials, companies and institutions linked to China’s treatment of Uighurs in the Xinjiang region. On 20 July, the US Commerce Department added 11 Chinese companies to the US economic blacklist.
Earlier this week UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab accused Chinese officials of committing “gross, egregious” human rights abuses in Xinjiang – but the British government stopped short of introducing sanctions against officials accused of abuse against the Uighur.
France also condemned the treatment of the ethnic group. French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said it was “revolting and unacceptable” – and called for “international independent observers” to be allowed to inspect conditions in Xinjiang.
What about private companies using Uighur labour?
More than 180 human rights groups have urged brands from Adidas to Amazon to end sourcing of cotton and clothing from the Xinjiang region and cut ties with any suppliers in China that benefit from what they claim to be “forced labour”.
While most fashion brands do not source from factories in Xinjiang, many of their supply chains are likely to be tainted by cotton picked by Uighurs that is exported across China and used by other suppliers, a coalition of organisations said in a letter.
More than 80 per cent of China’s cotton comes from Xinjiang. “Brands and retailers recognise there is a massive problem in the region, and that their supply chains are exposed to a grave risk of forced labour,” said Scott Nova, head of the US-based Worker Rights Consortium (WRC).
Anne-Marie Deutschlander, the acting regional Director for Europe of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), appealed to the Polish authorities to facilitate access to asylum procedures.
UNHCR urged Poland to give asylum-seekers access to territory and asylum.
European Court of Human Rights decided that Poland’s denial of access to asylum procedure to several asylum-seekers had been a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.https://t.co/DkQaj1JBQz
This came one day after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that by denying access to asylum procedures, Poland violated several articles of the European Convention on Human Rights.
“Refusal to grant them entry at the border, without properly assessing their claims, is in dichotomy with the country’s obligations”, maintained the UN Official.
The deeply Catholic country has named security concerns for restricting entry to refugees.
News media cited a non-governmental organization in reporting that since 2016, the annual number of asylum applications has fallen from a 8,000 to 14,000 annually to 4,000 a year.
Managing borders
UNHCR has consistently reiterated the legitimate right of States to manage their borders.
However, under international law, States are also obliged to protect those who seek asylum by permitting them access to territory and safe reception.
This obligation is fulfilled by accepting an application for granting the refugee status from a foreigner, passing him or her across the border and providing a safe shelter for the time of examining his case, according to the UN refugee agency.
Applying for refugee status is a fundamental human right of those who flee their country for fear of persecution.
It is guaranteed by the provisions of international law, including the Geneva Convention of 1951 to which Poland is a party.
UNHCR reminded that safe border management and providing safe haven for refugees are not mutually exclusive and that the agency remains ready to assist any Government in effectively combining the two.
Now is the time to implement policies and commitments to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the new President of one of the UN’s main bodies said on Thursday.
Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan outlined his priorities for the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) as the UN marks its 75th anniversary amid the global economic and health crisis.
“The ECOSOC’s central mandate is to promote ‘better standards of life in larger freedoms’ through international economic cooperation. Never before has the fulfillment of this mandate been more challenging, or more imperative, as it is today,” he told a virtual ceremony.
Mr. Akram said the pandemic and associated global recession will make it difficult to realize the SDGs. The 17 goals provide a roadmap to a better future for all, by 2030.
Meanwhile, global warming is accelerating. He warned that unless countries meet agreed targets on climate change, the planet could become uninhabitable for all living things.
Simultaneous response needed
“The broad policy decisions to address each of these three simultaneous challenges have been taken. Commitments have been made. What is needed now is implementation”, said Mr. Akram.
“This should be the focus of our deliberations. And, since we need to respond simultaneously, there must be synergy between our responses to the health, development and climate challenges.”
Address rising inequality
The new ECOSOC President also wants countries to address rising inequality, both within and between nations.
“The legacy of colonialism, racism and foreign occupation is a major systemic cause of inequality”, he said.
“I will propose to the Council that we convene a special meeting in 2021 – the 20th Anniversary of the Durban Conference against Racism – to address the root causes of global inequality. Similarly, the 10th ECOSOC Youth Forum should be dedicated to promoting a vision of a more equal, peaceful, united and dynamic world order.”
Support developing nations
Mr. Akram also proposed that the Council should promote action on financing for COVID-19, the SDGs and climate action goals.
However, if the world is to “build back better” after the pandemic, he underlined the need for developing countries to have greater access to renewable energy and other sustainable infrastructure, as well as advanced technologies.
“The ECOSOC should help to build a coordinated approach to ensure the required capital flows to developing countries to recover from the current recession and revive the prospects of achieving the SDGs”, he said.
“In preparation for the annual Forum on Financing for Development next April, I intend to convene a few informal meetings and consultations to advance these objectives.”
New ECOSOC Bureau
This is the second time Mr. Akram has assumed the ECOSOC Presidency, having taken the helm in 2005.
Three Vice-Presidents have also been elected to serve alongside him on the ECOSOC Bureau, which proposes the Council’s agenda and devises a programme of work, among other duties.
They are Ambassador Collen Vixen Kelapile of Botswana, Ambassador Pascale Baeriswyl of Switzerland, and Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya of Ukraine.
Mr. Akram praised his predecessor, Mona Juul of Norway, for her leadership of the Council during what he described as “these extraordinary times”.
Ms. Juul in turn offered a few words of advice, having steered the Council through the initial phases of the pandemic, and at a time of global upheaval against racial injustice, the climate crisis and rising inequalities.
“Be ready to embrace change!”, she told Mr. Akram and the new Bureau. “Let us change for the better and make our recovery based upon values, not value. On compassion, courage, and cooperation.”
Although the pandemic is changing the world, Ms. Juul stressed it has not changed global commitment to realizing a better future for all.
She said now is the time to “fix the world’s fragilities”, from access to universal health coverage and quality education, to reversing environmental degradation, and power imbalances that disproportionally affect women and girls.
“To recover better, we must build forward. To a greener, fairer, more inclusive and more resilient tomorrow,” she said. “If we do not change now, then when?”
UN Photo/Evan SchneiderProtests have been occurring daily in New York City against racism and police violence, following the death of George Floyd.
