Our possibilities of action have been written and oral statements before the Human Rights Council.

At the Human Rights Session at the UN Geneva in March 2012, WUCWO co-signed:

An oral statement on the role of Faith-Inspired Organizations in the promotion and protection of the Right to Health. 

An oral statement on The Promotion and Protection of the Right to Health of People Living with HIV: the Engagement of Faith-Inspired Organizations

A written statement: Appeal for Urgent Attention to the Situation of Children Living with HIV or with HIV/TB co-Infection

5 (five) oral statements focusing on children's rights and the right to education in the following countries: Venezuela,Thailand,Haiti,Togo and Timor Leste.

Oral statement: Right to Development: from rhetoric to action of which the main point was that the implementation of the right to development is successful only if centered on the human person.

Very important was the General Debate at the Regular Session of the Human Rights Council Panel Discussion on “Discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity”. We submitted an oral statement: “Toward Preserving the Universality of Human Rights”.  The Human Rights Commission’s report met with strong opposition and during this debate  and on March 7th the delegates of UN member states in the Organization of Islamic Conference, representing 57 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, walked out of the Palais des Nations in protest. The United States and European countries welcomed the report…

Intervention of Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič to the United Nations International Conference in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace

The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva has recently adopted an important resolution with regards to the Protection of the Family (A/HRC/29/L.25).

WUCWO, which currently coordinates the Working Group for the Family in the Forum for Catholic Inspired NGOs, in working together with Caritas Internationalis, Fondazione Giovanni XXIII, Point Coeur and the Justice and Peace Dominicans, played a supportive role throughout the drafting and adoption of this resolution by ensuring that the views of our organisations were expressed clearly to the Egyptian representative who led the process.

Some key points of the Resolution:

-Recognizes the family as the ‘natural and fundamental’ cell of society and as an ally against poverty, saying that it should therefore be supported in sustainable development programs.

-Encourages States to consider fiscal policies, investment plans and employment opportunities with respect to their impact on the well-being of families. And even encourages them, where necessary, to create observatory bodies to monitor family policies.

-Takes into account in particular the families composed of only mothers and children, highlighting the need for policies that protect against domestic violence and discrimination against women.

-Recognizes the work done by the associations of civil society to value the role of the family.

-Encourages the United Nations to incorporate the family perspective into the work of the Objectives of Post-2015 Development (SDG).

-Requests the High Commissioner to prepare a report on the impact of the implementation by States of their obligations regarding the protection of the family.

See the Resolution in: 

March 2016

WUCWO co-signed an oral statement prepared and presented by APG23 at the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva which condemns the sale of children.

March 2016

WUCWO co-signed the oral statement prepared and presented by APG23 at the 31st session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. 

March 2016

WUCWO Secretary General, Maria Lia Zervino, pronounced a joint oral statement on the protection of the family at the 31st session of theUN Human Rights Council in Geneva. 

Click here to watch the video. The statement is made at Chapter 31 (1h 03)

June 2016

WUCWO, as coordinator of Geneva's Forum of Catholic Inspired NGOs, co-organizes a parallel event on Amoris Laetitia.

WUCWO, as a member of the committee for the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking, presented the theme of February 8, 2017: "They are children! Not slaves!".

A light against human trafficking

February 8 is the International Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking. We invite you to join in our prayer. Click here for more information.

Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls