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We Urgently Need Your Help to Defend the Family at the UN!

Dear Friend of the Family,

We urgently need your help to neutralize attacks on a very important pro-family resolution under negotiations right now at the UN Human Rights Council!

The critical vote on this resolution is expected Thursday, so time is short!

Please help us show the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) that people all around the world strongly support this resolution. Can you take just a minute to do one or more of the following things to help?

1. Sign our letter urging UN Member States to vote in favor of this resolution.

2. Encourage your government to oppose any hostile amendments seeking to redefine the family by forcing governments to recognize “various forms of the family.”

3. If your country is a current member of the Human Rights Council (HRC) and thus eligible to vote on this resolution, please do whatever you can to get them to vote in favor and to cosponsor the resolution. Click here for a list of HRC members.

Please note that even if not on the council, your government can still be helpful in supporting the family resolution during negotiations and by signing on to it as well.

As with past family resolutions, one of the main attacks on this pro-family resolution is a push for recognition of “various forms of the family.”

Did you hear about how Columbia is now giving legal recognition to three-man marriages? LINK

Certainly this family form is not in the best interest of children nor should it be considered the fundamental unit of society!

MORE BACKGROUND AND DETAILS:

Building on the previous Protection of the Family resolutions adopted by the HRC in 2014, 2015, and 2016 (the first, on the role of the family in general; the second, focusing on the role of the family in eradicating poverty and in sustainable development; and the third, on the role of the family in supporting members with disabilities), this 2017 family resolution adds the additional emphasis on the role the family plays in supporting the elderly.

It also includes a number of beautiful paragraphs on the important functions the family plays in society. See a few inserted below:

The core cross-regional group of countries sponsoring the family resolution this year include Bangladesh, Belarus, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, El Salvador, Qatar, Mauritania, Morocco, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Uganda.

They are working hard under great pressure and need our help!

The crazy thing is, this resolution should not even be controversial. It highlights the role of families in supporting its members, including older persons.

They are actually claiming that recognizing the important roles of the family will somehow harm individual rights or promote abuse of elderly family members.

As always, one argument they are making against this pro-family resolution is a push for recognition of “various forms of the family.”

The votes to defeat these hostile amendments pushing for “various forms of the family” have been always been extremely close, and we have won by only the slimmest of margins. That is why we need your help.

The letter we invite you to sign debunks false claims being made. Please take a minute to sign it. We will distribute it to UN delegations.

We thank you for what you have done in helping Family Watch and the UN Family Rights Caucus harness support to successfully pass the previous family resolutions.

Please also forward this alert on to as many others as you can and encourage them to also join you in signing the letter to HRC members.

Another important way you can help is by contacting the media in your country to encourage your government to support the family resolution at the UN Human Rights Council.

Truly, it is shameful for any country to vote against this resolution.

The time is short. We expect that this resolution will likely be voted on as early as this Thursday.

Please do whatever you can to help us protect the family and family values around the world.

Thank you!

P.S. If you or your organization has not joined the UN Family Rights Caucus yet, please help our voice for the family at the UN become even stronger by joining at UNFRC.org today! It only takes a minute.

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LETTER TO THE UN:

June 19, 2017

Dear Permanent Missions in Geneva,

On behalf of the UN Family Rights Caucus, which represents individuals and organizations in over 170 countries, we wish to call your attention to the resolution for the Protection of the Family: the role of the family in supporting the protection and promotion of human rights of older persons.

This resolution reminds Member States of their duty to protect the family as the fundamental unit of society with a focus this year on the crucial role the family plays in the support and protection of older persons.

We are, however, deeply concerned by the opposition against what should be a completely noncontroversial document. Therefore, we would like to respond to a number of false claims being made.

False Claim 1: If the family is protected then individual rights will suffer.

Quite the opposite is true. The family is the first protector of children’s health and rights. A wealth of social science research shows that not just children, but also women and men, experience fewer violations of their rights when in a stable, intact family. Where violations do occur, there are ample existing laws that can and should be used to address them. READ MORE >

EXCERPTS: CURRENT HRC RESOLUTION FAMILY UNDER NEGOTIATION

HRC 35 … Protection of the family: role of the family in supporting the protection and promotion of human rights of older persons

The Human Rights Council,

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Reaffirming that the family, as the fundamental group of society and the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members, should be afforded the necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the community,

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Recognizing also the potential contribution of the family to society, national development and to the achievement of major objectives of every society and of the United Nations and noting with concern that such a contribution continues to be underestimated,

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Reaffirms that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society, and is entitled to protection by society and the State;

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Recognizes the positive impact that policies and measures to support families and protect them from poverty, exclusion, violence and involuntary separation can have on protecting and promoting the human rights of its members, including those of older persons, and on achieving equality between women and men and girls and boys, empowering women and girls and enhancing protection against violence, abuses, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, and harmful practices, while bearing in mind that violations and abuses of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of family members adversely affect families and have a negative impact on efforts aimed at protecting the family;

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Recognizes that the family, while respect for the rights of its members is ensured, is a strong force for social cohesion and integration, intergenerational solidarity and social development, and that the family plays a crucial role in the preservation of cultural identity, traditions, morals, heritage and the values system of society;

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Conscious that families are sensitive to strain caused by social and economic changes, and expresses deep concern that conditions have worsened for many families owing to consequences of economic and financial crises, lack of job security, temporary employment and lack of regular income.

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Highlights the role of families in supporting its members, including older persons, and recognizes their potential in contributing to the protection and promotion of older persons among its members;

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Stresses that families remain the first and most immediate environment where older persons can develop their potential and enjoy a fulfilling life, and that the realization of the human rights of older persons, can be deeply affected by the quality of life and the support and assistance provided to them, including through access to a range of support services that are responsive to the individual choices, wishes and needs;

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Urges States, in accordance with their respective obligations under international human rights law, to provide the family, as the natural and fundamental group unit of society, with effective protection, support and assistance, and encourages States in this regard to take, as appropriate, relevant effective measures to the maximum of their available resources;

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Also recognizes that the family unit plays a key role in social development, and as such should be strengthened and attention paid to the rights, capabilities and responsibilities of its members, and invites States, the organizations of the United Nations system and all other relevant stakeholders to take into account the role of the family as a contributor to sustainable development and the need to strengthen family policy development in their ongoing efforts to achieve the internationally agreed development goals, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

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Invites the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the treaty bodies, relevant special procedure mandate holders and other relevant international and regional human rights mechanisms, within their respective mandates and competence, to pay due attention in their work to the implementation by States of their obligations under relevant provisions of international human rights law to provide protection and support to the family as the natural and fundamental unit of society;