UN This Week: Oct 16-20
Member State Statements
Cameroon delivered a great statement on life and family during a Third Committee meeting on human rights
“While this year we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)...a fundamental question [remains]- what are we talking about when we talk about human rights today?.. When there is confusion and the human rights language we use no longer reflects a common understanding, it is good to go back to basics. It is essential to [remind ourselves of] the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights…What [the Declaration] tells us is that the family is the natural and fundamental element of society, that it has the right to protection, and that parents have the right to choose the type of education they give to their children…through the Declaration we [also] understand that we need to respect life from conception to natural death…Let’s not allow human rights to be used for political purposes or as a Trojan horse for controversial issues. Though the right to religion is protected, let’s not turn human rights into a religion with treaty bodies experts as priests in charge of its interpretation and HRD and CSO to spray the good word.”
UN Agencies
The WHO has released an updated guidance on adolescent health and well-being, encouraging legislation that allows for access to “safe” abortion care without parental or spousal consent and that encourages the breaking down of “harmful gender roles, norms and relations”, as part of their “gender transformation” work.
C-Fam Friday Fax
U.S. Blitzed with Abortion Questions at Human Rights Committee, Stefano Gennarini reports
UN Report Says Young Girls Cannot Succeed Without Abortion, read the full story here
Events
On Tuesday, Benjamin Nolot, filmmaker and founder of Exodus Cry, debuted 'High Class' at the Newport Beach Film Festival, a documentary exposing the harsh reality of human trafficking and debunking the 'high class escort' myth. The film will be accessible online in early 2024.
The attacks on the pro-life groups continue! At a World Health Summit side event, Dr. Neil Datta, Founding Executive Director of the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, discussed the "need to address the polarized space…we are not dealing with the same conservative space as we did in the past. We are dealing with a new set of actors that emerged 15/ 20 years ago which have the following set of characteristics: highly professional, transnationally connected, able to renew their generations. We are talking about young people with professional skill sets undermining sexual and reproductive health and rights…We need to study those groups, we did reports on them in Brussels, and if we study them we will be able to strip away their legitimacy, as we did in Brussels"
Reports
The Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, delivered her report (A/78/172) on trafficking in conflict settings. However, her report lacked a crucial discussion on the connection between the rising consumption of pornography and its contribution to the demand for prostitution and sexual trafficking. While she rightfully condemned enforced prostitution, the report remained silent on the broader role that prostitution plays in this complex issue.
The Independent Expert for the Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order discussed his report, also referred to as the “new international world order” report. The expert emphasized the need for more cooperation and multilateralism in international relations.
F. Gonzalez Morales, Special Rapporteur on Migrants, delivered a statement that undermines national sovereignty: “While states have legitimate interests in securing their borders and exercising security controls, the international law guarantees that such concerns cannot override the obligation of the state to respect the internationally guaranteed human rights of migrants.”
Other News
UN Treaty Bodies Twitter account shares that abortion is basic healthcare
