UN This Week: Oct 23-27
New York as seen from the third floor of the UN building.
UN Member State Statements
Poland and the Sovereign Order of Malta delivered two statements on the importance of freedom of religion and belief at a UN Third Committee Meeting:
“Malta upholds the Roman Catholic teachings on religious freedom and this is exemplified through the Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem...where Christians and Muslims work to safeguard lives, particularly of women and children. The pursuit of truth must be free from external coercion or impedance. As Saint Pope Paul VI states, the right of religious freedom has its foundation not in the subjective disposition of the person but in his very nature. Governments must continue to try to achieve the delicate balance between protecting society and ensuring the individual’s ability to exercise their religious freedom, of maintaining law and order while safeguarding principles of human rights”
-Sovereign Order of Malta
“Poland is of the deepest conviction that freedom of religion and belief directly contributes to democracy, development, the rule of law, good governance, and peace and stability. No one is permitted to suppress those rights by using coercive power. We call on all state and non-state actors to respect the human right to freedom of religion or belief”
-Poland
Another topic of discussion this week was the impact of abortion access on women's involvement or lack thereof in peace and security initiatives. As you'll see below, some UN agencies and member states think that women cannot engage in peacemaking and peace-building dialogues without access to abortion. This falls under a larger progressive belief that without access to abortion, a discussion of any other rights is useless.
As shared by Luxembourg at a UN Security Council meeting on Women’s Peace and Security.
“Defending health and reproductive and sexual rights..allowing women and girls to exercise their bodily autonomy is an essential step in achieving gender equality and in allowing women to participate in peace processes”
During a Third Committee Meeting on human rights, Australia expressed concerns over Russia’s policies on transgenderism and sex-change medical procedures
“We are alarmed by decisions to tighten anti-LGBTI legislation even further and introduce a range of new prohibitions for transgender adults, including banning consensual medical care to affirm gender identity. Russia’s anti-LGBTI legislation must be repealed.”
UN Bodies and Agencies
The UN Security Council convened to discuss Women's Peace and Security, with a primary emphasis on the role of women in peace negotiations and peacebuilding. The overarching consensus, endorsed by both the UN Secretary-General and UN Women, underscored that greater female representation in decision-making processes is an essential pathway to global peace. Long story short, UN “experts” believe that men, by their nature, wage unwarranted wars and women, by nature, will always resort to peace. These are the same agencies that dedicate extensive time and resources to eradicating gender norms.
UN agencies call for funding of sexual and reproductive health self-care for universal health coverage. This universal health coverage includes “self-management of some or all components of medical abortion as part of comprehensive abortion care.”
UNFPA has a new strategy on gender-based violence (GBV) that promotes abortion and sexual education.
Interesting Facts
The UN Security Council chamber displays a "Mural for Peace," a work of art designed to inspire hope for a world emerging from the devastation of World War II. Interestingly enough, the mural places the family, understood as the union between a man and a woman, at the center. This positioning sends a profound message about the fundamental role of family in a flourishing society. Unfortunately, this perspective meets significant resistance within the UN, particularly from progressive governments that do not perceive any substantial worth in preserving the traditional family framework and, instead, advocate for its redefinition.
Photo: UN Photo Digital Asset Management System
C-Fam Friday Fax
Abortion groups are stepping up their efforts to spread abortion across the African continent. New offices are opening, new campaigns are starting, and new strategies are coming to light. Read more here.
Stefano Gennarini reports on how rich countries use food as a weapon to push a progressive gender agenda.
Other News
The Guttmacher Institute developed a toolkit for abortion advocacy in Africa
Ipas, an organization focused on promoting widespread access to abortion all over the world, has opened a new home office in South Africa
The US ties climate change with gender-based violence against women sharing that “climate disasters and stressors heighten women’s and girls’ risks of experiencing gender-based violence”
