Young pro-lifers defy UN at Lisbon

By James Evans

The United Nations has passed a declaration on the rights of young people aged 10-24 that guarantees them "reproductive rights," and usurps their parents' authority, but seeks at the same time to strengthen their families.

The August 8-12 international meeting of government ministers for youth in Lisbon, Portugal was stage-managed by anti-family conference organizers. But pro-lifers managed to ensure that positive references to the family were inserted into the conference's final declaration.

Organizers misled pro-life non-governmental organizations (NGOs) seeking to address the plenary meeting of member- state delegates. They also barred pro-family young people from participating in the World Youth Forum in Braga, which preceded the conference. They even tried to stop the Vatican from raising objections to "reproductive health" and "gender-equity" provisions in the declaration.

"What we were up against was a document presenting an anti-family position that left us little room to negotiate," said Charmaine Graves, a Campaign Life Coalition representative who took part.

Sections of the document calling for "reproductive health" will apply to children as young as 10 years of age, according to Paul Bloem of the World Health Organization (WHO). Despite the fact that the declaration will apply to minors, it makes no mention of the role of parents, Graves noted with concern.

Trouble began early in the main committee proceedings. The Vatican drew the committee's attention to the fact that the references to "reproductive health" were in brackets despite the objections raised at the preparatory conference in New York. In UN draft documents, brackets indicate sections lacking consensus. Only bracketed sections would be open for discussion at the Lisbon meeting.

"In the name of justice, I must insist that the brackets be reinstated," Vatican delegate John Klink told the committee.

After a long discussion, committee chair Ethel Blondin-Andrew (the Liberal MP for Canada's Western Arctic) said the brackets would not be restored, but that she would allow debate on the disputed words.

After informal negotiation sessions failed to achieve a compromise acceptable to the Vatican and its chief opponent, Botswana, the Netherlands proposed that the committee return to the original anti-family wording. Only Iran, Guatemala, Trinidad, and Argentina stood by the Vatican.

After the debate, Blondin-Andrew said she thought there was a consensus. The Vatican argued that consensus means unanimity and this was clearly not the case. In the face of great hostility to the Vatican's position, Blondin-Andrew ruled that the issue should be dropped.

"The Holy See gave us opportunity to open debate on language against the family, but we were isolated—the Muslims were not present," Guatemalan delegate Rita Claverie de Sciolli told The Interim. At UN conferences in recent years, Islamic states have played an important role in resisting the anti-family agenda of the wealthy, secular West.

Pro-family groups celebrated a modest victory the following day, however, when the main committee agreed to insert a reference to strengthening the family in the declaration's preamble.

Pro-lifers win modest revisions to document

The family support wording came from a paragraph in the Copenhagen declaration on social development. It was suggested by Andorra as a compromise, in response to another proposal by the Vatican.

The original Vatican amendment sought to recognize "that most people are called to marriage and family life." But a number of European nations opposed this wording.

"Marriage is not accessible to young people, especially homosexual people," said Belgian delegate Philippe Allard. "It is not for us to put marriage forward as a model."

The 22-nation Arab League backed the Holy See, as did Poland, Guatemala, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Mali. Turkey, the UK, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and Austria opposed even the watered-down alternative.

The pro-family groups who attended the conference coalesced under the banner "NGO Coalition for Family and Youth." They became a very effective lobbying force. Included in the group were young people from NGO Family Voice, United Families International, World Movement of Mothers, World Assembly of Muslim Youth, and Campaign Life Coalition. Members from NGO Family Voice had attended the World Youth Forum in Braga the week before. They reported a series of attempts by UN officials to thwart their participation and control the agenda. NGO Family Voice delegates were refused accreditation by conference organizers. When NGO Family Voice officials asked what the criteria were for accreditation, the UN youth unit said there were none. NGO Family Voice went anyway, and was eventually admitted. ‘

Reproductive rights

A representative from the United Nations Population Fund brought "reproductive rights" language into the preamble of Braga conference documents, in spite of the fact that no official delegate had raised the issue.

Similarly, a WHO official called for a second vote when youth delegates supported a family- and community-centred approach to healthcare. The WHO's alternative proposal to teach condom use was approved instead.

NGO Family Voice delegate Ryan Nelson was twice elected to the Braga declaration drafting committee. But organizers told him that there were already too many "white males" on the committee. Nelson said he discovered afterward that only one "white male" participated.

The World Assembly of Muslim Youth, who also attended the Braga meeting, reported that their traditional values were not respected.

The pro-family coalition faced similar stonewall attempts at the Lisbon conference. When Graves asked to address the plenary session on behalf of the caucus for youth and family, NGO co-ordinator Karin Johans on of Sweden scheduled her without reservation.

Later Johanson found out that the group was pro-life, and said they wouldn't be allowed to speak because they didn't represent a geographically diverse group of people. The coalition represented 46 nations in four continents. Meanwhile, favoured NGOs such as the YWCA and the International Association of Medical Students were specifically asked to speak. Some had not even prepared a speech ahead of time.

Eventually, Johanson gave in to pro-life pressure and scheduled Graves to address the plenary at 9:00 p.m., after the translators and many of delegates had left for the day.

"In recent years, studies have shown repeatedly that parental love more than any other factor protects youth from risks associated with irresponsible sex and violence," Graves reminded delegates in her speech.

The pro-life coalition was instrumental in achieving another modest victory through the conference working committee. Their outspoken defence of parental and family rights encouraged official government delegates from conservative nations to stand up for traditional values.

Although the findings of the daily working committee sessions were not incorporated into the final declaration, the working committee's recommendations were listed in an appendix to the text. As a result of the coalition's efforts, the appendix contains references to parental rights found nowhere else in the Lisbon conference documents.

"The role played by the family in providing support and guidance to young people ... should be emphasized," the appendix reads.

When delegations from Europe read the working committee report, they were furious. They accused the Andorran chairperson of attempting to censor the "real" problem of securing "reproductive rights" for young people. But the Andorran chairperson held his ground, and insisted his report provided an accurate reflection of the working committee's discussions.