Forget the US Supreme Court: "Tremendous, Unprecedented" Victory for Family at UN

Steve Weatherbe : Jul 10, 2015
LifeSiteNews

"Only a small number of countries backed the LGBT agenda... the United States [for example] lobbied with great energy against this resolution. Supporting the LGBT agenda is a primary objective of U.S. foreign policy. [But] the globe was with us on this resolution. This is unprecedented—a tremendous victory for the family." -Austin Ruse, Center for Family and Human Rights

(Geneva, Switzerland)—A pro-family resolution has been passed by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva of "unprecedented" force and reach, thanks to a coalition of African and other developing countries, China and Russia and a support group of socially conservative NGOs. (Photo via business-humanrights.org)

"This is unprecedented, a tremendous victory for the family," Sharon Slater, the head of Family Watch International, told LifeSiteNews. "It is the first time ever in the history of the United Nations that a comprehensive resolution has been passed calling for the protection of the family as a fundamental unit of society, recognizing the prior right of parents to educate their children, and calling on all nations to create family-sensitive policies and recognize their binding obligations under treaty to protect the family."

The voting on the "Protection of the Family" resolution was 27 for and 14 against, Slater noted. Those opposing the motion included the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland and other Western European countries, while its sponsors included Russia, China, Belarus, and more than a dozen Muslim and African countries. The four abstaining members of the council—Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Macedonia—probably were forced to do so by the rich countries opposing the bill.

"The developed countries probably put huge pressure on the others to stop the bill or insert amendments undermining its intent by threatening to withhold foreign aid," said Slater. "We applaud those who were able to stand up for the family, and we ask people to write to them to thank them." (FWI provides a webpage to help people send these supportive letters.)

Austin Ruse of the Center for Family and Human Rights (C-FAM), also termed the resolution "a tremendous victory for the pro-family world" and a defeat for the small but powerful group of anti-family groups supported by developed countries and the United States.

Several attempts were made by feminist and pro-LGBT groups to first defeat and then amend the resolution by inserting "reproductive rights"—a euphemism for abortion, and by replacing "the family" with "families" and by inserting inclusive language to apply the resolution to sexual minorities.

The passage of the resolution was predictably condemned by feminist and sexual advocacy groups... Nonetheless, said Ruse, "The globe was with us on this resolution. Only a small number of countries backed the LGBT agenda. You can be certain the United States lobbied with great energy against this resolution. Supporting the LGBT agenda is a primary objective of U.S. foreign policy."

The victory marks the growing impact of the UN Family Rights Caucus, a coalition of pro-family NGOs that supported the national delegations in Geneva.

Click here to read more about the resolution.