________________________________________________________________________________
UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
UNFRC sponsored CSW events:
- “Sexuality Education Exposed” by Miriam Grossman M.D. Click here to see Dr.
Dr. Miriam Grossman, M.D. speaking at UNFRC sponsored event at the CSW in 2012.
Grossman’s alarming video presentation on the harm to children from UN-supported sexuality education programs.
- Launched UNFRC “Stop the Sexualization of Children” Campaign: (See Stop Sexualizing Children website and petition)
Pilar Vasquez (Mexico)
Youth show their support of the "Stop the Sexualization of Children" petition.
The UN Family Rights Caucus organized and sponsored the following 2012 CSW presentations:
- “The Harms of Sexuality Education” by Lynn Allred, FWI’s Director of Communications
- “Marital Status and Poverty” by Pilar Vasquez. Ms. Vasquez presented on
Pilar Vazquez addressing "Marital Satutus & Poverty" at CSW 2012.
programs on the ground in Mexico that help women in poverty and in crisis, many of whom are pregnant and need support services. Her presentation provided sound evidence from their work in Mexico with thousands of women showing that those who did not reside in a married mother/father family structure experienced significantly more problems than their married counterparts.
- “The Family: Eradicating Poverty and Hunger”
Martha Cruz-Zuniga speaks on the impact of family structure on economic development.
Dr. Martha Cruz-Zuniga, professor of Economics at Catholic University in Washington DC. Dr. Zuniga presented evidence on how family structure impacts economic development and demonstrated the economic contribution stable, educated families can have in reducing poverty. She examined the family as a producer of human capital and presented data showing how sustainable growth requires wealth, savings and investment and how the family is relevant to this process. Click here to see her PowerPoint presentation.
- “Marriage the Gold Standard for Children,” originally prepared by Dr. Brad Wilcox of the National Marriage Project at the University of Virginia on the impact of the family on poverty delivered with permission by UNFRC Spokesperson Annie Franklin. This presentation brought to light the large and growing body of social science-based evidence indicating that children are most likely to thrive when they are raised by their own married mother and father. Click here to see power point presentation.
________________________________________________________________________________
UN Commission on Population and Development (CPD)
- Delivered UN Statement
- Lobbied successfully for the deletion of sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual rights and for the inclusion of a paragraph calling for national sovereignty and respect for religious and cultural values.
________________________________________________________________________________
UN Human Rights Council
The UN Family Rights Caucus supported and three of UNFRC member organizations co-sponsored the first major Human Rights Council event in support of the family entitled “Standing for the Family.” This historic event, organized by the African and Islamic UN voting blocs, reminded States of their obligations to safeguard the institution of the family as called for in of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which proclaims:
- “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State."
- The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to found a family shall be recognized.
- "Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance."
- Parents have “a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.”
Presenters included:
- Renowned international family policy scholar, Richard Wilkins, presented on the “mounting evidence showing that the survival of society depends upon the positive outcomes derived from the natural union of a man and a woman.” He called on States to work together to restore the family to its proper strength and function.
- Family Rights Caucus Chair/President of Family Watch International, Sharon Slater, warned that families are increasingly being treated by governments as collections of individuals competing with each other for rights, and in the process, “we have pitted women against men and children against parents, thereby contributing to the breakdown of the family. . . This in turn has created more problems that must be dealt with in UN deliberations.
- Theresa Okafor, Director of the Foundation for African Cultural Heritage and Sarah Flood-Beaubrun, Founder of the Caribbean Centre for Family and Human Rights, described how the breakdown of the family system in their respective countries and regions is driving the increased rates of drug abuse, delinquency, sexual promiscuity, out-of-wedlock births and many other problems that are weakening their societies and their economies.
- Wael Attitya, Commissioner of the OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation] Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission, enumerated where various aspects of the family are protected in human rights instruments and agreed with the other panelists that these areas are largely being ignored by the UN to the detriment of societies around the world. When asked what could be done to correct this gap between policy and action, Mr. Attiya suggested that a new movement within the United Nations beginning with a resolution focusing on the critical role of the family and outlining Member States’ obligations with respect to the family would be a good first step.
