CFAM Publications http://www.c-fam.org/rss/publications.asp This is publications from CFAM en-us (c) 2008 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:50:00 EST http://feedvalidator.org/docs/rss2.html www.eResources.com (Generator) webmaster@c-fam.org (CFAM) support@eresources.com (eResources) 60 Chaos and Ideology Reign at UN Conference on Youth in Mexico http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1689 LEÓN, MEXICO, August 26 (C-FAM)  Early reports from participants at the World Youth Conference that commenced this week in León, Mexico are that the conference is the scene of ideological rigidity and yet almost total chaos. There seem to be four conferences going on at once, one for youth, one for governments, one for parliamentarians, and one called the Global Interactive Forum.

A measure of the chaos at the governmental forum is that early yesterday it was announced the president of Mexico would appear and speak. The room gathered, quieted, music played, and then nothing happened and no one explained anything. The president never appeared, at least as of this writing.

]]> Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:39:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1689 UN Bureaucracy Campaigns for Homosexual Adoption in Mexico http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1688 Co-authored by Dianelle Martinez

NEW YORK, August 26 (C-FAM)  In the midst of a controversial judicial consideration of homosexual adoption earlier this month, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights ran an ad campaign that appeared to support the effort to overturn Mexico City’s law against homosexual adoption. According the website of the Office of High Commission, an estimated 5 million people a day carried subway tickets with the message, “Embrace diversity; End discrimination.” The purpose of the campaign was to remind citizens of Mexico City that they “are entitled to the full range of human rights.”

In addition to this campaign, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights Kyung-wha Kang told a Mexico City women’s conference, “Marriage between same-sex individuals is a right which includes the possibility of adopting children.” Kang also said the “UN has always been in favor of the full enjoyment of the rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation.”

]]> Thu, 26 Aug 2010 09:25:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1688 UNFPA Uses International Year of Youth to Exploit Children http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1685 International Year of Youth

NEW YORK, August 19 (C-FAM)  Last Thursday, the United Nations (UN) officially launched the “International Year of Youth” (IYY) in the UN General Assembly Hall.  The theme for the year is “Dialogue and Mutual Understanding,” with a focus on health and development, particularly the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  But some observers fear that the IYY agenda has been taken over by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and its allies who are using it to promote new “rights” to sexual and reproductive health education and services for young people.

The UN has devoted considerable resources for the IYY, including for a new cutting-edge website, and has incorporated the youth agenda into the work of all of the major UN agencies.  At the UN launch, the Joint Statement of the Heads of UN Entities was delivered by the head of UNFPA, Thoraya Obaid.

]]> Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:33:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1685 Human Rights Watch Incorrectly Charges Argentina with Treaty Violations over Abortion http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1684 NEW YORK, August 19 (C-FAM)  A report released last week by the human rights advocacy group Human Rights Watch promotes abortion in Argentina and criticizes Argentina for not complying with international law.  The report, “Illusions of Care: Lack of Accountability for Reproductive Rights in Argentina,” charges that “[i]n Argentina, nationalistic interests combined with an orthodox Catholic discourse on ‘family values’ have historically underpinned some of the most anti-contraception and pro-population-growth policies in the region.” 

The report erroneously cites several international human rights treaties and committees, including the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), for its claim that international law requires Argentina to provide abortion-on-demand.  In fact, no international human rights treaty contains a right to abortion.  When CEDAW and ICCPR were negotiated, many of the negotiating countries had pro-life laws on the books that still remain in place today. 

]]> Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:29:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1684 Barack Obama’s Image in Kenya Tarnished by Abortion Battle http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1681

NEW YORK, August 12 (C-FAM)  Barack Obama’s sterling image among Kenyans has dimmed in the wake of a $23M U.S. campaign to promote a draft constitution that included abortion rights. The U.S. promoted the new constitution as a way to stop gross presidential power and corruption. Opponents say that same power and corruption were used to convince many Kenyans, falsely, that the document was pro-life. The constitution passed with 67% in favor on August 4th.

“In a word, we were against a most formidable government machinery that took total control of the message and denied access to the truth to its own people with the help of foreign regimes,” one Kenyan observer told the Friday Fax.

]]> Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:56:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1681 Organ of Organization of American States Used to Promote Abortion in Latin America http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1680 NEW YORK, August 12 (C-FAM)  A recently-released document, revives concerns that the Washington DC-based Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is becoming yet another venue for the promotion of abortion, under the guise of “reproductive health,” and “family planning.” 

The release of “Access to Maternal Health Services from a Human Rights Perspective” coincides with the “new international human right” to maternal health recently asserted by abortion activists at the UN-backed Women Deliver 2 conference which took place in Washington DC in June of this year. 

]]> Thu, 12 Aug 2010 12:52:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1680 African Union Submits to Pressure for Abortion as Cure for Maternal Deaths http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1677 KAMPALA, UGANDA, August 5 (C-FAM)  The African Union (AU) finished its annual summit last week with governments agreeing to make maternal and child mortality a continent-wide priority. The summit ended with Member States extending the controversial, non-binding Maputo Plan of Action (PoA) for an additional five years and expanding new initiative called the Campaign on Accelerated Reduction on Maternal Mortality in Africa (CARMMA).

Pressure was placed on the AU from UN agencies and foreign non-governmental organizations (NGO). While United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) executive director Thoraya Obaid, called on delegates to focus on non-controversial interventions to reduce maternal deaths – such as skilled birth attendants and emergency obstetric care – the very next day in a speech at Makerere University in Kampala Obaid focused instead on "unsafe abortion," "reproductive rights," "reproductive health services" and "sexuality education."

]]> Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:41:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1677 UK Announces Plan to Push Radical Sex Agenda on Developing Nations http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1676 NEW YORK, August 5 (C-FAM)  Last week the United Kingdom (UK) announced a new maternal health initiative with an "unprecedented focus on family planning" for the developing world. The plan includes the promotion of abortion and sexual “rights” for children.

The UK's Department for International Development (DFID) chief, Andrew Mitchell, presented the plan called “Choice for Women – Wanted Pregnancies, Safe Births”  at a public consultation forum hosted by DFID and attended by development experts, health professionals, and the general public.

]]> Thu, 05 Aug 2010 11:35:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1676 UN Committee Attacks Motherhood, Demands New "Rights" for Women http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1673 NEW YORK, July 29 (C-FAM)  A United Nations (UN) treaty committee notorious for its promotion of abortion and ideological positions not supported by UN treaties, concludes its session this week after launching attacks on motherhood and traditional gender roles, while calling for an ever-expanded array of new sexual and reproductive “rights.”  The session was especially notable for the statement by the Russian Federation, which reported that decreasing abortion rates were helping to decrease the overall maternal mortality rates in that country.

The committee, which monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), is composed of 23 “independent” experts and is reviewing eight nations during their 46th session.

]]> Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:30:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1673 Latin American Economic Summit Promotes Abortion, Condemns "Lesbophobia" http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1672 NEW YORK, July 29 (C-FAM)  A recent gathering of Latin America’s top economic commission issued a document praising secularism, condemning "lesbophobia," calling for redistributive social systems, and liberally promoting sexual and reproductive rights.

Delegates from more than 30 Latin American and Caribbean countries attended the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) Eleventh Session of the Regional Conference on Women in Brazil. The purpose of the conference was to address gender equality and women’s empowerment in economic terms. The delegates were mainly “gender” advisors, representing the government of member states. 

]]> Thu, 29 Jul 2010 08:00:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1672 US Rams Through UN Approval of Homosexual Group that Opposes Religious Freedom http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1669 NEW YORK, July 22 (C-FAM)  The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) voted this week on a US-led initiative to accredit the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). The move effectively bypassed a subsidiary committee’s decision to defer action on the group until it answered questions about its support of new homosexual ‘rights,’ which many Member States believe directly conflict with recognized rights to freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

The Obama administration has been an active champion of IGLHRC's application to the UN since the June meeting of the committee on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) when US representatives insisted on an immediate vote on IGLHRC even though other committee members still had unanswered questions. In response to the US attempt to force a decision, Egypt called for a procedural "no action" motion.

]]> Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:15:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1669 Nuncio to Iraq Appointed as New Head of Holy See Mission to UN http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1668 NEW YORK, July 22 (C-FAM)  Late last week, Pope Benedict XVI named Archbishop Francis Assisi Chullikatt as the new permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations (UN) in New York, succeeding Archbishop Celestino Migliore, who was recently appointed papal nuncio to Poland. 

Archbishop Chullikatt has extensive experience as a member of the Holy See diplomatic corps, having served most recently in one of the most challenging posts, apostolic nuncio to war torn Iraq and also Jordan, a position he has held since 2006.  Born in Bolghatty, India in 1953, he is the first non-Italian to head the Holy See Mission in New York. 

]]> Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:07:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1668 Calls for Radical Autonomy for Youth Ahead of Mexico Conference http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1665 NEW YORK, July 15 (C-FAM)  Two recently released documents prepared in anticipation of an upcoming youth conference make unprecedented claims for new “rights” for youth that experts say directly conflict with traditional norms and international law.

The draft declaration which will be considered by governmental participants at the World Youth Conference, to be held at the end of August in Leon, Mexico, calls for a “comprehensive development of young people that includes: a humanist education to face ethical challenges” and “sexuality education.”  There is also a call to “guarantee the highest level of physical and mental health of the youth population taking into account diverse … gender contexts,” and for providing “universal access to reproductive health, including through family planning as a method of reducing maternal mortality in adolescent girls and young women.”  

]]> Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:37:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1665 UN Secretary General Announce New "Superhero" Advocacy Team for MDGs http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1664 NEW YORK, July 15 (C-FAM)  For months, the international community has been preparing for the September review summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).  As part of the preparations, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently announced the formation of an MDG advocacy team composed of prominent politicos and philanthropists who will "build political will and mobilize action on the eight Goals." The list, which includes noted population control supporters and abortion advocates, is causing concern.

At the announcement, Ban Ki-moon praised his advocacy team as "a collection of superheroes in fighting poverty."  Co-chairing the superheroes are President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain. Group members, who are assigned to specific development goals, include former President Michelle Bachelet of Chile, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, cable billionaire Ted Turner and Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs.

]]> Thu, 15 Jul 2010 10:30:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1664 U.S. Attacks Egypt Over Homosexual Rights at UN http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1661
NEW YORK, July 8 (C-FAM)  At the United Nations (UN) last month, several U.S. representatives attacked Egypt for asking for further investigation into a  homosexual advocacy organization which has applied for special consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. These attacks culminated in a sharp rebuke delivered last week by U.S. ambassador Susan Rice. The actions seem to contravene President Obama’s strategy of engaging Egypt and other Muslim societies in key foreign policy aims such as Middle East peace.

At a UN committee meeting, three American representatives rose in protest of an Egyptian-led group of nations seeking further investigation of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). One U.S. representative attacked Egypt so aggressively that the Egyptian delegate called a point of order on the matter. The committee is in charge of deciding which organizations are granted consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:19:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1661 UN Creates What May Become a Billion Dollar Agency for Radical Feminism http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1660  

NEW YORK, July 8 (C-FAM)  Last Friday the General Assembly voted to consolidate four separate United Nations (UN) bodies dedicated to women’s issues into one new gender equality entity called “UN Women.” The resolution capped a victory for radical feminists who lobbied for years for the new entity and is the latest in an overall push to bring women’s issues even more onto the UN agenda.

After four years of sometimes harsh negotiations, member states agreed on simplifying the disjointed efforts of four UN offices dedicated to women’s issues; the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW) and the Office of the Special Advisor on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI).

]]> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:16:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1660 G8 Countries Launch Global Initiative on Maternal Health without Reference to Abortion http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1657 Co-Authored by Nick Dunn

 

TORONTO, July 2 (C-FAM) The Group of Eight (G8) leading industrial countries held their annual forum here last week and, following the lead of the Canadian government, launched a new global initiative on maternal and child health. The Muskoka Initiative pledges “to accelerate progress” towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) dealing with maternal and child health. While the host government was successful in keeping references to abortion out of the final document, the initiative calls for G8 countries to “commit to promote integration of HIV and sexual and reproductive health, rights and services within the broader context of strengthening health systems.”

Since announcing his plan for an initiative to improve maternal health in January, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had insisted that it would contain no funding of abortion, but would include clean water, sanitation, better nutrition, and treatment and prevention of diseases. Beverley Oda, Canada’s International Cooperation Minister, has said that the government would consider the use of family planning methods such as contraception, but reinforced its opposition to abortion funding.

 

]]> Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:32:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1657 CEDAW Committee Elections Promise More of the Same in Abortion Promotion http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1656  
NEW YORK, July 2 (C-FAM) Elections to fill openings for half of the 23 seats of the committee charged with monitoring compliance to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) were held at United Nations (UN) headquarters this week.   Prior to the vote, delegations actually campaigned, leafleting the crowd with promotional material in support of their candidates.  Nearly all of the 186 states parties to the CEDAW treaty cast ballots as representatives from Turkey, Paraguay, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Bangladesh, Slovenia, Mauritius, Timor L'Este, Switzerland and Croatia were elected to the committee.

Twenty-one candidates from across the globe vied for the open positions, but in the end, the majority of the slots went to previous members of the committee including three former committee chairmen.

]]> Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:03:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1656 UN Office of Human Rights Continues Drum Beat for New Human Right to Maternal Health http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1653 GENEVA, June 24th (C-FAM)  The Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) has presented a new report to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council on "Preventable Maternal Mortality and Morbidity and Human Rights" that calls for a new “right” to maternal health.


The pro-abortion Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) heralded the new report and boasted of having a "leading role" in getting maternal mortality put on the human rights agenda. CRR organized three panels on implanting a “human rights-based approach” to reducing maternal mortality at the recent Women Deliver 2 conference.

]]> Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:36:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1653 US Administration Launches All-Out International Homosexual "Rights" Offensive http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1652 WASHINGTON DC, June 24th (C-FAM)  United States (US) Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed a reception at the State Department, proclaiming that “human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights, once and for all.”  The reception celebrated “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month,” as was officially proclaimed by President Barack Obama for the month of June, and follows a recent incident at the United Nations (UN) where U.S. representatives made loud demands for immediate action on accrediting a homosexual “rights” group to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Secretary Clinton used her address at the reception as an opportunity to set forth a very explicit agenda of promoting the homosexual “rights” agenda throughout the world. “We are elevating our human rights dialogues with other governments and conducting public diplomacy to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons,” said Clinton.  “Our Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor produces an annual Human Rights Report that include a section on how LGBT persons are treated in every country.”  Additionally, Clinton noted that, “The Bureau of African Affairs has taken the lead by asking every embassy in Africa to report on the conditions of local LGBT communities. And I’m asking every regional bureau to make this issue a priority.”

]]> Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:24:00 EST Friday Fax Volume 13 http://www.c-fam.org/publications/pub_detail.asp?id=1652