UEM discusses human rights of indigenous peoples

"Because they are cutting down his forest, which is immeasurable" - this threatening word from the book of the Prophet Jeremiah stands above the Human Rights Action 2020 of the United Evangelical Mission on the issue "Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples", which was opened on 13 December 2019 by Christoph Strässer, former Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues and Dr. Fransina Yoteni, representative of the Protestant Church from West Papua (Indonesia), in the Wuppertal Mission House.

This year the fires in the rainforests of the Amazon in Brazil have shown that not only the livelihoods of the indigenous people in Brazil are threatened, but that the livelihoods of all people on this planet are endangered by the progressive destruction of the rainforest. The main victims are indigenous peoples who are being displaced and structurally destroyed, but also animals and plants that are threatened with extinction.

In the UEM communion, churches in Asia and Africa are committed to the rights and protection of indigenous communities, including West Papua in Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Botswana and the Philippines.

"As United Evangelical Mission, we stand up for the rights of indigenous people and for their survival in the face of land theft, deforestation, exploitation of raw materials and destruction of the environment," said Dr Jochen Motte, Head of the Human Rights Department of UEM.

The opening of the UEM campaign is linked to International Human Rights Day on 10 December. Background information, liturgical material for church services as well as topic-related educational material for schools and congregations are summarized in a brochure.

Materials for download:

• Brochure with background information, liturgical help & educational material (German)
• Poster (English version)