On December 18 Reuters reported the following UN news:
The U.N. General Assembly split over the issue of gay rights on Thursday after a European-drafted statement calling for decriminalization of homosexuality prompted an Arab-backed one opposing it.
Diplomats said a joint statement initiated by France and the Netherlands gathered 66 signatures in the 192-nation assembly after it was read out by Argentina at a plenary session. A rival statement, read out by Syria, gathered some 60.
The two statements remained open for further signatures, the diplomats said. No resolution was drafted on the issue and there was no voting, they added.
The division in the General Assembly reflected conflicting laws in the world at large. According to sponsors of the Franco-Dutch text, homosexuality is illegal in 77 countries, seven of which punish it by death.
The European Union-backed document, noting that the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was marked this month, said those rights applied equally to all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
But the opposing document said the statement “delves into matters which fall essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of states” and could lead to “the social normalization, and possibly the legitimization, of many deplorable acts including pedophilia.”
“We note with concern the attempts to create ‘new rights’ or ‘new standards,’ by misinterpreting the Universal Declaration and international treaties to include such notions that were never articulated nor agreed by the general membership,” it added.
This, it said, could “seriously jeopardize the entire international human rights framework.”
Muslim countries have for years opposed international attempts to legalize homosexuality.
U.S. officials said the United States had not signed either document. They said the broad framing of the language in the statement supporting decriminalization created conflicts with U.S. law, but gave no further details.
Last week United Families International spent the week at the UN with a Pro-Family Pro-Life coalition. During their stay at the UN, UFI, along with the Pro-Family coalition, presented a petition to the UN General Assembly in favor of the family and the rights of the unborn. In addition to the presentation of the petition, UFI held meetings with several UN Ambassadors that helped get signatures on the opposing document that Reuters cites.
“United Families International is proud to have been instrumental in helping garner additional support for the Pro-Family statement. Our coalition was happy to have worked specifically with the nation of Egypt on this particular document.” UFI President, Beverly Rice told the UFI Blog.
For the past 30 years UFI has worked at the UN to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society. UFI maintains non-government organization (NGO) status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) and works to educate UN ambassadors and delegates on root policies affecting the family. UFI sends representatives, including experts on family issues, to UN conferences to provide legal analysis and peer-reviewed scholarly research in support of UN delegates working to preserve the family. UFI has been successful in affecting the outcome of numerous UN conference documents and in promoting respect for the family, marriage, life, religion, parents and national sovereignty.