Dear ~Contact.FirstName~,
We live in such a specialized society that everyone, of necessity, learns to trust the “experts”! What we must also learn is that the experts have motives and agendas that may or may not match our own values and beliefs. In recent years, the United Nations has developed the practice of relying on “experts” to draft preliminary drafts of international agreements and to provide broad advice to the Member States relative to those documents. It is remarkable, however, that the recommendations from such “experts” have generally been uniformly one-sided, and anti-family. There are many examples of this practice, but let’s examine just two:
Kosovo’s Constitution
Shortly following the major disruptions in the former Yugoslavia that resulted in such new nation states of Serbia, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzogovina, the people and government of Kosovo were asked to consider and adopt a new constitution. The draft constitution submitted for ratification was written by foreign non-government organizations with a healthy dose of modern liberal, anti-family language, with no regard for the traditional values of the Kosovar people.
Most Kosovars were not aware of the dangerous language hidden within. While citizens had been invited to gather to express their views about what should be included in their constitution, they never saw it or had exposure to what it actually said. The people had been led to believe their many cultural interests would be preserved by this constitution. After all, it had been “written by experts,” they were assured.
Representatives from UFI and other concerned groups met with national President Fatmir Sedjiu, Speaker of the House Jakup Krasniqi, members of Parliament and other influential leaders to convey the message that this Constitution contains many provisions that could undermine the traditional family, the dignity of human life and basic freedoms of speech, assembly and religious liberty. They were informed that if implemented as drafted, it would give Kosovo one of the most liberal constitutions in all of Europe and perhaps in the world.
It contained language to support a constitutional “right” to abortion on demand. It would prohibite discrimination on the basis of “sexual orientation,” and although it provided for a “right to marriage and family,” it did not define marriage as the union of a man and a woman. It prohibited conscience rights in favor of “sexual rights,” barring clergy from refusing to perform same-sex “marriages,” and barring physicians from being able to refuse to perform an abortion for reasons of conscience. It also subjected the human rights of Kosovars to the European Court of Human Rights,undermining Kosovar’s national sovereignty and ability to be self-directing.
When the Constitution was presented before Parliament, it was approved by applause rather than by vote! The supporters of the document then reported that the Constitution was approved unanimously! One citizen told our representative how upset he was with his own assembly representative who told him he had not even read the Constitution before he approved it “because it had been written by experts.” The Speaker of the House tried to reassure us that the Constitution had been written by “American and European experts.”
The “Yogyakarta Principles”
Without much in the way of advance notice, let alone national or international sanction, a group of self-appointed and self-styled “experts” met in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, to set out a set of purportedly binding principles of human rights relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. Below is the introductory language from the group’s website summary, found at http://www.yogyakartaprinciples.org/.
In 2006, in response to well-documented patterns of abuse, a distinguished group of international human rights experts met in Yogyakarta, Indonesia to outline a set of international principles relating to sexual orientation and gender identity. The result was the Yogyakarta Principles: a universal guide to human rights which affirm binding international legal standards with which all States must comply. They promise a different future where all people born free and equal in dignity and rights can fulfil that precious birthright.
The “binding international legal standards” announced by these experts constitute perhaps the single most blatant attempt to force international human rights law in the direction of liberal political ideology. This was not a meeting of Nation States. These principles were not approved by authorized representatives of Nation States as a Treaty or International Convention, nor ratified by any conventional formal legal process. It was drafted by a select group of people with a particular political agenda for the world, and subsequently announced as “binding.” “Say a thing often enough, and people will come to believe it to be true.” “Just Trust Us,” they suggest. After all, we’re “experts.”
These “experts,” however, apparently have no appreciation for the intergenerational role played by the family. They seem to follow a “me first, right now” philosophy without regard for the inevitable long-term consequences to our children, grandchildren, and their societies. Family is about responsibility to the rising generations, generations that the families of the world both bring about and for which they accept the responsibility of nurturance, training, and value guidance.
The world faces a perhaps unprecedented rise in this “me first” political philosophy, and its supporters seek to establish such so-called but misguided versions of “human rights” at the expense of basic truths and human values.
United Families International is working with allies and like-minded people around the world to preserve the family, family values, and respect for human life, all of which center around taking responsibility for other people and their welfare. Help us to continue this great work by contributing today. Your support will enable us to fight for the values that are vitally important to the family and communities around the world.
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United Families International