By Holy See Mission
Statement of the Holy See in
Explanation of Position
on the Agreed Conclusions (E.CN.6/2011/L.6) 55th session of the Commission on the
Status of Women of the United Nations Economic and
Social CouncilNew York, 14 March 2011
Mr. Chairman,
The Holy See
strongly affirms the need to respect the inherent dignity and worth of all women
and girls, which are fundamental to their authentic advancement.
It is
noteworthy that the Charter of the United Nations, in preambular paragraph 2,
calls for the "equality between women and men,” a call that is repeated in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in preambular paragraph 5. The UDHR
also prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex (Art. 2). This recognition
is essential to the future of the human race and all its members.
In addition, the UDHR acknowledges the
equal rights of a man and a woman to marry and
found a family, the natural and fundamental unit of society (Art. 16). This
recognition is essential to the future of the human race and all its members.
The 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) also
prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex (Art. 2), recognizes “the
equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights”
(Art. 3) and repeats the language found in art. 16 of the UDHR (Art. 23). The
1979 Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women continues
along these lines (Art. 1).
As the Conclusions refer to the term “gender”, my delegation
wishes to recall that, since the early 1990s it was gradually introduced into
non-binding documents negotiated by State Parties, and has been commonly used to
refer to the two sexes, male and female. In treaty law, the only definition of
"gender" which binds State Parties is that contained in the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, which states that "the term 'gender' refers to the
two sexes, male and female, within the context of society. The term 'gender'
does not indicate any meaning different” from the aforementioned definition
(Art. 7.3).
It is worth remembering that during the 1995 Fourth World
Conference on Women, a different and radical understanding of gender had been
circulated during informal discussions, but was rejected. Moreover, the
President of the Fourth World Conference on Women, on the recommendation of a
large body of Member States, explicitly stated at that Conference that "the word
'gender' had been commonly used and understood in its ordinary, generally
accepted usage.” That is, gender refers to “male” and “female”—the generally and
historically accepted usage. This statement also emphasized that no “new meaning
or connotation of the term, different from accepted prior usage,” had been
intended (cf. Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women Beijing, 4-15
September 1995, Statement by the President of the Conference on the commonly
understood meaning of the term "gender", 2-3, A/CONF.177/20/Rev.1). It is
noteworthy that, at that time, the Holy See consistently reaffirmed its
understanding of gender, and does so again today.
Unfortunately
during the negotiations of the present text, some delegations attempted to
advance once again, through the vehicle of "gender studies," a radical
definition of "gender," which asserts that sexual identity can somehow be
adapted indefinitely to suit new and different purposes, not recognized in
international law. In response, in the present text, a new preambular paragraph
was adopted with a view to eliminating doubts about the promotion of a new
definition of “gender”. Such an agenda has no place in any document sponsored by
the United Nations, let alone one concerning women and girls. Rightly, during
negotiations many delegations reaffirmed the use of "gender" as referring to
“women and men,” or male and female, according to its ordinarily agreed usage
before, during and after negotiation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action.
The attempt to re-define gender is also linked to the missing
reference to the UDHR, in the present text. The UDHR, the foundational document
of the human rights system, acknowledges the inherent dignity and worth of every
human person, male and female. Yet some of those promoting a re-definition of
gender opposed reference to the UDHR in the face of overwhelming support for its
inclusion, and equally opposed reference to “the inherent dignity and worth of
women and men,” a bedrock principle of the human rights system. In light of
these trends, the international community should be aware that this agenda to
re-define “gender,” in turn, calls into question the very foundation of the
human rights system.
In addition, this radical approach is also connected to the
missing reference to the “rights” of parents, in particular, their right to
choose the education for their children, including education about authentic
human love, marriage, and the family. The rights of parents are specified in the
UDHR, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Several
attempts to include parental rights’ language to stand alongside the term
parental responsibilities were rebuffed. This is a grave matter, when one
considers that parental rights and duties are firmly rooted in international
law, and that parental rights are correlative with duties, the former being
necessary to carry out the latter (cf.
UDHR, art. 26.3; International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 18;
Convention on the Rights of the Child, arts. 3.2, 5, 14.2).
In closing, my delegation takes the opportunity to reaffirm
all of the Holy See’s reservations on past occasions with regard to the meaning
of the term “sexual and reproductive health,” which should not include abortion
or abortion services. Moreover, the Holy See in no way endorses contraception or
the use of condoms, either as a family planning measure or as part of HIV/AIDS
prevention programmes or classes/programmes of education in sexuality. The Holy
See – as well as many women in the world – is convinced that the true
advancement of women is strongly linked to the recognition and the effective
implementation of their rights, dignity and responsibilities. Women and men are
both called to welcome, protect and foster these, for a renewed commitment
towards humanity.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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