World Communion of Reformed Churches approve Public Witness Resolution on Unpeace in the Philippines
The following resolution was approved by consensus by the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) during its 27th General Council Meeting at Chaing Mai, Thailand. The meeting was attended by 400+ delegates from 230 member churches, ecumenical partners, and global church leaders.
Public Witness Resolution on Unpeace in the Philippines
The situation in the Philippines is marked by unpeace—a state of pervasive injustice rooted in historical oppression, economic inequality, and political corruption. Human rights violations, systemic poverty, and government policies aligned with neoliberal and foreign interests—particularly those of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and the United States—continue to exploit and marginalize the Filipino people.
Decades of armed conflict reflect deep-seated social and economic injustices that cannot be resolved through military means. Despite previous peace negotiations between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), the government has failed to uphold its commitments, resorting instead to red-tagging, repression, and violence.
In this climate of political tension and foreign military influence, especially under the U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy and growing regional conflicts with China, the suffering of the Filipino people has intensified.
The United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) urges the global ecumenical community to stand in solidarity with the Filipino people by re-establishing the Global Ecumenical Forum for JustPeace in the Philippines (GEF-PH). It calls on the World Communion of Reformed Churches and other partners to support peace negotiations, condemn human rights violations, resist militarization, and accompany the churches and communities in their struggle for justice, sovereignty, and a just and lasting peace.
1. Stand in active solidarity with the Filipino people in their struggles for self-determination which is just and lasting peace that addresses the roots of injustice by: calling for the resumption of GRP-NDFP (Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines) peace negotiations that address the roots of unpeace; help investigate violations of human rights and international humanitarian law through pastoral visits; and, expose and deepen global understanding of tthe roots and manifestations of systemic violence and repression in the Philippines, and their links to global militarization and regional instability in Asia and the Pacific.
2. Help establish GEF-PH (Global Ecumenical Forum for JustPeace in the Philippines) in the context of the global movement of mutual solidarity, reinvigorate moral, material, and other forms of support for Philippine churches in the work for peace based on justice.