{"id":215563,"date":"2023-12-09T10:01:31","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T15:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/?p=215563"},"modified":"2024-02-02T03:23:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T08:23:28","slug":"celebrating-the-udhr-at-75-iof-s-joint-statement-to-un-ambassadors-on-society-s-irreplaceable-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifamnews.com\/en\/celebrating-the-udhr-at-75-iof-s-joint-statement-to-un-ambassadors-on-society-s-irreplaceable-foundation","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating the UDHR at 75: IOF’s joint statement to UN ambassadors on society’s irreplaceable foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last updated on February 2nd, 2024 at 03:23 am<\/p>\n

IOF has submitted the following statement, joined by organizations around the world, to all UN ambassadors in New York for the 75th<\/sup> anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protect, Strengthen, and Treasure:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Celebrate the Universal Declaration at 75<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seventy-five years ago as the United Nations was about to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights<\/a>, Eleanor Roosevelt told the General Assembly,   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind\u2026 This declaration may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere.[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And so it has become. Translated into over 500 languages and said to be the most universal document<\/strong> in the world,[2]<\/sup><\/a> the Declaration stands as \u201ca moral and educational manifesto<\/strong>\u201d[3]<\/sup><\/a> and \u201cthe single most important reference point for cross-national discussions<\/strong> of how to order our future together on our increasingly conflict-ridden and interdependent planet.\u201d[4]<\/sup><\/a> Never mind that it is non-binding, for it has served as \u201ca powerful inspiration for an array of rights conventions and declarations<\/strong> in the postwar period,\u201d[5]<\/sup><\/a> has been \u201cadopted in or has influenced most national constitutions since 1948<\/strong>,\u201d and \u201cserved as the foundation<\/strong> for a growing number of national laws, international laws, and treaties, as well as regional, national, and sub-national institutions protecting and promoting human rights.\u201d[6]<\/sup><\/a> It has even been called \u201ca moral guiding star<\/strong>\u201d[7]<\/sup><\/a> for humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in recent years, something has gone amiss. \u201cT<\/strong>ime and forgetfulness are taking their toll<\/strong>,\u201d wrote Professor Mary Ann Glendon in 2001, as \u201cthe Declarationhas come to be treated more like a monument to be venerated from a distance than a living document to be reappropriated by each generation. Rarely, in fact, has a text been so widely praised yet so little read or understood<\/strong>,\u201d[8]<\/sup><\/a> while its meaning is often distorted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Declaration\u2019s ability to weather the turbulence ahead has been compromised by the practice of reading its integrated articles as a string of essentially separate guarantees<\/strong>. Nations and interest groups continue to use selected provisions as weapons or shields, wrenching them out of context and ignoring the rest<\/strong>\u2026. Forgetfulness, neglect, and opportunism have thus obscured the Declaration\u2019s message<\/strong> that rights have conditions\u2014that everyone\u2019s rights are importantly dependent on respect for the rights of others, on the rule of law, and on a healthy civil society<\/strong>.[9]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And what is the foundation of a healthy civil society? The Declaration leaves no doubt. In its entire enumeration of rights, only one \u201cspecifically devolves to a group<\/strong> rather than an individual,\u201d[10]<\/sup><\/a> only one is described as \u201cnatural,\u201d<\/strong> and only one accrues to society\u2019s fundamental group unit<\/strong>. Article 16(3) declares, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The language is clear, the meaning unmistakable. In \u201cprecise and elegant terms,\u201d noted Professor Richard Wilkins, the Declaration describes the family as \u201cthe natural and fundamental group unit of society\u201d because it is \u201cderived from the natural union of a man and a woman<\/strong>.\u201d[11]<\/sup><\/a> And the fact that the family \u201cis entitled to protection by society and the State\u201d presupposes, as expressed in the Charter on the Rights of the Family, that it \u201cexists prior to the State or any other community, and possesses inherent rights which are inalienable<\/strong>.\u201d[12]<\/a> In short, Article 16(3) is intended, according to UN Special Rapporteur Manfred Nowak, to \u201cshield the family as the cornerstone of the entire social order<\/strong>.\u201d[13]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCornerstone\u201d is also one of the words used to describe the family in the hundred-plus national constitutions that have provisions echoing Article 16(3)<\/strong> as these jealously sovereign nations remarkably declare that the fundamental unit of society is not<\/em> the state but the family. Some track the language of \u201cnatural and fundamental group unit,\u201d while others call the family the \u201cnatural and fundamental cell,\u201d or \u201cfundamental nucleus,\u201d or \u201cnatural and moral basis,\u201d or \u201cprimary and fundamental genesis of the spiritual and moral values,\u201d or \u201cbasic foundation\u201d or \u201cnatural foundation,\u201d or \u201cnatural and moral foundation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever the nuance of language, the message is always the same: the family is irreplaceable, indispensable, foundational<\/strong>, even as described by historian Will Durant, \u201cThe family is the ultimate foundation of every civilization known to history<\/strong>.\u201d[14]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No wonder Michael Novak, US Ambassador to the Commission on Human Rights, could declare, \u201cPolitical and social planning in a wise social order begins with the axiom What strengthens the family strengthens society<\/em>\u2026. The roles of a father and a mother, and of children with respect to them, is the absolutely critical center of social force.<\/strong>\u201d[15]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No wonder the Doha Declaration could state, \u201cThe family is not only the fundamental group unit of society, but is also the fundamental agent for sustainable social, economic and cultural development<\/strong>,\u201d and \u201cStrong, stable families contribute to the maintenance of a culture of peace and promote dialogue among civilizations and diverse ethnic groups<\/strong>.\u201d[16]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No wonder Alex Haley could insist, \u201cThe family is our refuge and our springboard; nourished on it, we can advance to new horizons. In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future<\/strong>.\u201d[17]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

No wonder US representative Wade Horn could tell the General Assembly at the 10th<\/sup> anniversary of the International Year of the Family, \u201cThe state’s foremost obligation… is to respect, defend, and protect the family as an institution<\/strong>.\u201d[18]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And no wonder Member States could bind themselves by covenant to provide the greatest level of protection possible to the family: \u201cThe widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the family, which is the natural and fundamental group unit of society<\/strong>.\u201d[19]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But in one of the most bizarre and self-destructive trends of modern times, this \u201cnatural and fundamental group unit of society,\u201d this indispensable foundation of civilization itself, is being attacked and undermined by those seeking to suppress its inalienable rights by subordinating them to new claims relating to gender, marriage, and sexuality<\/strong>. Nations and interest groups are indeed using selected provisions as weapons or shields, wrenching them out of context and ignoring the rest\u2014especially the Declaration\u2019s anchor provision declaring that a healthy society rests squarely on the foundation of the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This trend is doubly alarming because this is happening at the very time when disintegration of the family is already wreaking havoc on society<\/strong>. The situation once described by Mexico\u2019s Ana Teresa Aranda has become widespread throughout the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It is no secret that the vulnerability suffered by our peoples\u2014insecurity, crime, abuse, abandonment of the elderly, orphaned children and violence<\/strong>\u2014causes enormous imbalances and obliges us to spend millions on institutional policies that in the end can do no more than manage those ills. If we go on like this, a time will come when all our tax resources will not suffice to counter the effects of vulnerability. If we wish to address the causes, we must look at the family<\/strong>.[20]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Michael Novak\u2019s warning from nearly fifty years ago reads like it was written for our day: \u201cThroughout history, nations have been able to survive a multiplicity of disasters\u2014invasions, famines, earthquakes, epidemics, depressions\u2014but they have never been able to survive the disintegration of the family<\/strong>.\u201d[21]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In celebration of the 75th<\/sup> anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we recommend the words of Pope Francis: \u201cEvery threat to the family is a threat to society itself. The future of humanity\u2026 passes through the family. So protect your families! See in them your country\u2019s greatest treasure and nourish them always<\/strong>.\u201d[22]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We call on all Member States to:<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n