We, representatives of the ACT Alliance Forums from Latin America and the Caribbean and from North America gathered jointly for the first time in Bogotá, affirm that defending democracy, human dignity, and the life of our planet is not optional: it is an essential expression of our faith.

As faith-based organizations in the Americas, we condemn the instrumentalization of faith to legitimize authoritarian projects, exclusionary nationalisms, structural racism, patriarchal violence, extractivism, the persecution of peoples and communities, as well as aggression against other nations. We reject the political manipulation of religion as a tool of power, control, and fear. Our faith calls us to honor life, to foster hope, and to build bridges—not to erect walls.

From ACT Alliance, united in faith, we express our deep concern over the serious risks that current regional dynamics pose to the integrity of democracy and to public safety in Latin America, the Caribbean, and within the territories of the United States and Canada. We are particularly alarmed by human rights violations linked to operations of the United States of America Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and to restrictive migration policies, as well as by the military attack against Venezuela and the geopolitical pressures, sanctions, and threats affecting multiple countries across the Americas.

This logic of power seeks to divide and polarize societies, impose fear, and divert attention from urgent crises that threaten the survival of our planet: the climate emergency, wars, the erosion of the multilateral system, the rise in femicides, structural racism, and the deepening of inequality.

ACT Alliance: A Call to Unity in Times of Global Fracture

In the face of this reality, we affirm that unity in diversity is today an ethical, political, economic, and spiritual imperative: “For just as the body is one and has many members, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).

Through our ecumenical diakonia, we care for life, accompany those who suffer and resist, and proclaim that another order is possible—from Canada to Argentina. In Latin America and the Caribbean, churches and ecumenical communities stand in defense of life defenders and social leaders, Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant communities, the plurality of beliefs, and the right not to believe, in the face of, among others, the advance of fundamentalisms, gender-based violence, and the climate, social, and economic crises. Throughout the hemisphere, multiple faith-based networks accompany and protect migrants and Indigenous Peoples in their pursuit of truth, reparations, and climate justice. These experiences confirm that the faith we live in community is not neutral in the face of authoritarianism, but becomes a prophetic voice and concrete action to affirm human dignity.

Our Commitment as ACT Alliance Forums

We affirm that ecumenical diakonia is an ethical, political, and spiritual commitment to justice, dignified life, and structural transformation. We commit ourselves to:

• Strengthening coordination between the forums of Latin America and the Caribbean and North America as a permanent space for analysis, denunciation, and joint action.
• Deepening ecumenism so that it becomes a non-colonial project.
• Prioritizing accompaniment of women, Indigenous Peoples, Afro-descendant communities, migrants, and communities in situations of heightened vulnerability.
• Defending a multilateralism that serves peoples, is grounded in the universal declaration of human rights, international law, international humanitarian law, and is committed to leaving no one behind. We recognize the inherent dignity of every person as our ethical calling to a rules-based order grounded in justice and equality of rights.
• Bearing public witness from faith—with an ecumenical prophetic voice—and advancing advocacy strategies toward governments, multilateral institutions, and international actors.
• Countering misinformation and disinformation and hate speech with narratives rooted in faith, human rights, and human dignity.

We leave this gathering sent forth to uphold truth, to protect life, to seek justice, and to build unity where fear and hatred raise walls. God of life, make us instruments of your just peace.

ACT Alliance

#FaithAndRights | #RegionalPeace

NOTE:  The statement is supported by the majority of members of the ACT Alliance Forums in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, but does not necessarily reflect the position of every member organization. 

Find the statement in Spanish and Portuguese