Stefano Gennarini
(ZENIT News – Center for Family and Human Rights / New York, 11.28.2024).- Traditional countries removed a reference to “reproductive health” in the final draft of a resolution on the family. The resolution was unanimously adopted in the third committee of the General Assembly on November 20.
Work behind the scenes from Burundi and other delegations from Africa ensured the removal of the term and a unanimous adoption. Powerful Western countries howled and accused traditional delegations of acting in bad faith, but ended up joining the resolution, nonetheless.
Traditional countries were shocked when the first draft of the resolution in October contained the pro-abortion term “reproductive health.” The annual resolution on the observance of the International Year of the Family had never included abortion-related terms before. This year’s resolution had the added importance of marking the 30th anniversary of the observance.
Nigeria called the resolution a “milestone achievement” describing Nigeria’s commitment to the “sanctity of the family.” “Family is not only the natural and fundamental group unit of society,” said the Nigerian delegate, “It is the building block of civilization.” She emphasized that, “All UN member states have an obligation to defend the family in line with international human rights law.”
Egypt’s delegate welcomed the removal of the controversial abortion-related language in the resolution. She said protection of the family was about more than just the “agenda of population and development” and that focusing on such controversial issues would “jeopardize” the attention the family deserved in this resolution. She also said that recognizing the role of women in the family was essential to realize “true empowerment of women and girls.”
A delegate from the Russian delegation praised the resolution for including a focus on the “international legal obligations of countries to the family as a unit” for the first time and for referring to the importance of maternal health for the family.
While traditional countries were elated by the outcome, Western countries were bitterly disappointed that the resolution did not include abortion language or recognition of homosexual couples as families.
A U.S. delegate accused traditional countries of promoting an “anti-LGBTQI+” agenda and “attempting to redefine the family.” “We must all acknowledge a simple truth. Diverse families exist. This is not a pollical statement, it is a fact,” he said.
The Hungarian Ambassador to the United Nations, speaking for Hungary and the entire European Union, complained that the resolution did not recognize same-sex couples. “Families have changed and continue to change,” she said, calling families “living evolving dynamic entities.” She also complained that the resolution referred to the “family-unit and its dynamic as a whole” because Western countries argue that only individuals possess rights but not the family unit.
A delegate from Mexico also lamented the lack of recognition of “diverse family forms.” She also complained that the abortion-related language was removed. “We were dismayed to discover that reproductive health had been deleted from final version,” she said, arguing that it is “impossible for families to prosper” without reproductive health because it is “an essential component for the wellbeing of families.”
A delegate of the United Kingdom complained that the resolution did not recognize the “changing needs and expectation of all families”, including “same-sex couples.” They said there were a “variety of definitions” of the family and that “All forms of family deserve support, dignity and respect.”
Delegates speaking on behalf of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand said that sexual and reproductive health care services were “critical to the wellbeing of families” and said that “families are represented in many forms, including… Children with same-sex families and many others.”
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