Off to Aus. tomorrow

My plan is to catch my flight at Glasgow airport at 8.50pm tomorrow and land in Hobart at 1.55pm on new years eve. So I will be on Bruny Is with my brother Keith new years eve and not going to a party but getting a good nights sleep, Lord willing!

The next day the slaughter of the fish may commence. Photographic evidence shall appear in early January, watch this space!

I am due back in Scotland 19th January. Plan to be in Holland 24 & 25 January for the 5th birthday party for TCC. Then on 28th January, I will be off to the UN in New York for the NGO committee hearings. Should be home from there 9th Feb.

Christmas dinner early at Rebekah's .

Nice to be with my wife ,2 daughters ,2 son in laws and 2 grandchildren in Scotland.

March for Life - The Hague - Sat . 9 Dec.

This is me giving my speech with Henk translating into Dutch. It was very cold and if I had stubbed my toe on something it might have fallen off with brittle fracture. This shelter was not a bouncy castle, but looked like one!

There was a big screen so people could see us. There were 15,000 people there which was a record.

I was next to a politician, on my left and Henk is in the brown coat on the end of the banner with two of his sons.

Off to the Netherlands today

My speech for tomorrow at the March for Life in The Hague.

Introduction

For the past 23 years, Mr. Smith has lobbied at UN meetings in New York and around the world, in total attending around 140 such events. He has represented the International Right to Life Federation and SPUC and now works for the Transatlantic Christian Council.

Speech

There is no international right to abortion, no treaties legalize abortion. At every UN meeting where abortion is even implied, there is a storm of disagreement.

Recently the Human Rights Committee in Geneva, which  monitors implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has been trying to fabricate a right to abortion

 Article 6 of that covenant states :

1. Every human being has the inherent right to life.

5. Sentence of death…. shall not be carried out on pregnant women.

Now this committee has issued a draft General Comment 36 on the right to life which states:

 States parties must provide safe access to abortion to protect the life and health of pregnant women

So another compliance committee at the UN has invented a right to abortion.  They are not alone, the CEDAW (Convention on Elimination of Discrimination against Women) compliance committee has been doing this for years. These are fake rights. You cannot make a wrong, that is abortion, into a right.

These compliance committees make many grand pronouncements, but these are not binding on sovereign nations.  The only sure way to force a country to change its laws is by invading it and taking over its government, I am not advocating this. The next way to get countries to change their laws is to trick them. These UN compliance committees are experts in this field.  They proclaim a right to abortion where there is not one. Rich countries donating money to poor countries can also put pressure on them to change their laws. He who pays the piper picks the tune.

The most widely accepts Convention at the UN is the DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD adopted by UN General Assembly in 1959. In its introduction it states:

   WHEREAS the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth,

So the UN should be pro-life, but many people in the system are not.

Who would have believed that Communism would fall in Russia and Eastern Europe in the late 1980s? But a Pope preached in Poland, fear not. Ronald Regan said tear down this wall in Berlin. Maggie Thatcher visited Solidarity and encouraged them. People prayed and an evil empire fell.

Now to end, in 1996 there was a big UN conference in Istanbul. Around 140 pro-lifers attended, I was there being a bit of a troublemaker. The pro-abortion countries, mainly the EU, got nothing for their evil agenda at this meeting. There were three Dutch grannies there who prayed, which was wonderful. I call it the miracle of Istanbul.

Continue to pray and lobby peacefully to end abortion.

God bless you.

Last week in London

We had a very nice dinner in Bromley on Thursday evening. My wife got to meet people I had been talking about for years. There was a presentation glass mentioned, but this was presented on Friday.

There was a very nice reception put on for me at Head Office. There was lots of smoked salmon which is my favorite. Maybe Friday was the reason!

I was honored to be invited to Operation Mobilizations Christmas dinner. George Verwer was in great form as usual. I got to share a little about my work for the Transatlantic Christian Council.

Very nice glass award from SPUC Evangelicals, 

Pro-Life Hero  Lifetime Award  1994 to 2017

Off to London for a few days

This morning my wife and I will be getting the train to London. Tonight we are attending a dinner put on for us by the SPUC Evangelicals committee. 

Tomorrow we are having lunch with Laura Fels from Campus Crusade. 

Then Friday afternoon there is a small leaving reception for us at SPUC headquarters. 

On Saturday night I will be at an Operation Mobilisation Christmas supper.

Transatlantic Christian Council (TCC)

Me and Henk at my home in Scotland

Henk speaks at my Church last Tuesday evening about TCC

I had a great time the last two days as Henk Jan Van Schothorst came to visit and talk about my role with TCC. I feel I must clear up a little confusion. I am not being paid by TCC at the moment. So in some ways, I am sort of a volunteer at the moment. Hopefully, I will start to get some salary early next year. There is much fundraising activity for TCC in the Netherlands and the USA at the moment. Please pray that funds would be provided.

I will be in the Netherlands 8 to 13 December. On the 9th Dec. I will be doing a 5-minute speech at the March for Life in the Hague. Several thousand are expected to attend. Henk will be translating for me.

If all goes well I shall be doing much the same work at the UN as I did for SPUC.

Transatlantic Christian Council (TCC)

I would like to introduce Henk  Jan Van Schothorst on the right and Todd Huizinga on the left, the founders of the Transatlantic Christian Council.

See :

http://www.tccouncil.org/

On the 13^th October 2017 I e-mailed the Pro-Life/Pro-family Coalition, that I have worked with the last 23 years , to say that I would be coming to the meeting on 26^th October and that would be my last trip as my employment with SPUC would end on 31 October.

Then three days later I received this beautiful e-mail from Henk, I am sure he will not mind me quoting him:

Date: 16/10/2017

Subject: Re: Next Coalition meeting  -  my farewell visit

Dear Peter,

I've no words to express my feelings of thankfulness for the kind of person you have been to me and for what you've done for Transatlantic Christian Council in obtaining the special consultative status at ECOSOC and for the Pro-Life work at the UN. 

Your kindness, professionalism, faithfulness and many more good things will be kept as a treasure and example in my memory.

Two quotes from you, which transmit your unpretentiousness and experience, come to my mind: 'Ministry of the Presence' and a prayer suggestion at the doorstep of the UN building: 'Lord, please give me one delegate today to talk with'. Very useful!

Al these good feelings are mixed with sadness that you will no longer be around in New York, where you belong to the fixed furniture as a reliable brother and tireless defender for unborn people.

Unfortunately, this time I cannot attend the coalition meeting in person on Friday, Oct 27. But hope we can keep in touch. Always most welcome here in the Netherlands! (And I still owe you a great dinner ;-)

Thanks for all and wishing you all the best,

King James Bible - Matthew 16:18 
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock, I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Henk Jan van Schothorst

The same day I replied to Henk’s very nice e-mail and said I would like to have the steak dinner he owed me, for helping with TCC’s accreditation to the UN.  Then Henk replied the same day not only offering to pay for me to come to Holland at his expense and perhaps working with TCC in some way. Also that he would take me fishing on the North Sea. So we arranged for me to visit mid December and also to meet up with Bert Dorenbos and speak at his March for Life on 9 Dec.

A day or so later I had a message from the Lord to “Pass on the baton “ to Henk with the UN work. I had been trying to get a paid job in Scotland for the previous few months and was not sure which way to go. I offered to show Henk what I did at the UN and he could then do it himself. After several e-mails, it became clear that Henk wanted to have me work for TCC. This put paid to the Scottish job. 

So on the morning of 26^th October, I got the official offer from Henk to work for TCC. So at the Coalition meeting that day I was able to say it was not my last visit after all.

The next Sunday 29^th Oct I went to what I thought was my last visit to my church, Graffiti. There they gave me a very nice plaque and a book about New York signed by many church members.

Plaque from Graffiti church

Pastor Taylor, me & Pastor Kareem.

Then on 31 Oct, I went to see my friends John & Rebecca Hodges in Jackson Tennessee. While there I met with Todd Huizinga, the other founder of TCC. We met in Memphis and had a very good meeting.

On 21 Nov. Henk is coming to Scotland to meet with me. He will be speaking at my Church that night. I will also be going to Holland 8 to 13 Dec as planned.

If you no longer wish to be on my mailing list please e-mail me and say unsubscribe.

Dinner tonight.

First day in Jackson Tenn.

Action needed - please

Community Gift Exchange

For the past year or so I have been working with this local charity in Prestwick where I live. Al Priestnal, a retired RAF helicopter pilot is the principal actor, along with Lynda, a retired businesswoman, and Ian a retired architect. I am the chairman of the charity. We just got our charity status approved by the Scottish government and we are Charity SCO47814.

Below is a request from Al Priestnal :

We want to enable people with limited mobility to be able to enjoy a ride on the sand with family and friends in a Beach Wheelchair. Please, would you give us the gift of ten minutes of your time to follow the link below via the address or video link, check out the background information and, if you like it - vote for it!

We need votes to be considered by the judges - so please also share this post with your Friends! 

We could get a considerable grant of money for this project.

Thank you!

https://community-fund.aviva.co.uk/vot…/project/view/17-4694

After you register, you need to type in Community Gift Exchange , click on UK , then put in Prestwick Scotland UK. 

When you see Al's daughter in the wheelchair click on it and give us 10 points.

God bless you

Peter Smith

Tomorrow off to the USA

Tomorrow I fly to New York for a week of meetings at the United Nations.
Then I am off to Tennessee to visit friends.

I am much in Prayer as to where the Lord will lead me in the future.
While I still have the strength I would still like to serve Him in some capacity.
I also need a paid position.

Your prayers in this regard will be very much appreciated.

God bless

Peter Smith

Statement by CEO of SPUC

Peter Smith

After 23 years of dedicated service as a lobbyist at the United Nations Peter Smith is leaving the employment of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) at the end of this month (31^st October 2017). The Society thanks Peter for his outstanding work for unborn children and for families during this period and expresses its profound appreciation to Frances Smith, Peter’s wife, for her sacrifice in supporting the long months and long days he spent in New York promoting the sanctity of human life at the UN.

Peter Smith has provided great service in the effective and tireless lobbying he has carried out on behalf of the SPUC at the United Nations over the past 23 years. For many of the early years, he worked with a tiny handful of pro-life colleagues from morning till late at night talking to delegates about abortion in the UN corridors, with Pat Buckley, his SPUC colleague, joining him at the turn of the century. When, gradually, other groups and individuals began to join Peter, Patrick, and their pro-life colleagues, they co-operated generously with them, sharing their experience and expertise, and helping to build a remarkable international pro-life resistance, a network of contacts which continues to be an important asset to the Society and to the pro-life movement. The great achievement of SPUC’s lobbying work at the UN in New York and elsewhere over the past two decades, in collaboration with other pro-life groups and the Holy See, is that there has been no internationally negotiated agreement which recognizes a “right” to abortion. Whereas tragically, many international institutions, governments, and UN bodies insist on promoting abortion in various ways, using ambiguous agreed language to do so, it remains the case that our anti-life opponents have failed to enshrine the right to abortion in international law. Future generations can build on this achievement in which SPUC, not least through Peter Smith and Pat Buckley, has played such an important role.

Peter has also played an invaluable role for the Society in helping to develop pro-life work in Africa, Asia, South America and Australasia; and in Britain he has played a number of key roles in the work of SPUC evangelicals.

For the past three years, SPUC has taken another major step in a new direction: we have found ourselves in the central management role of a major international coalition focused on the Catholic Church, and with strong support from certain key prelates, once again seeking to defend unborn children and the family.

The Society will continue to be grateful for Peter's irreplaceable contribution to the development of our international work, as we now take that work forward in new directions.

John Smeaton

Chief Executive

Society for the Protection of Unborn Children

George Verwer drops by to visit.

At CRE with its founder Gos.

At CRE with Dana.

At the CRE in Esher.

At Met. Tab., Elephant and Castle , London.

Had a literature table here 4 to 6 July with SPUC literature, had many good conversations.

Good funeral yesterday in London now

It was very wet yesterday  but over 20 people still came to the burial.
There would have been at least 60 people at the service. Very clear Gospel message was preached.

Tmorrow I am off to speak to around 15 pastors on pro-life issues.

Next Monday I will be chairing the SPUC Evangelicals Committee meeting.

From Tuesday to Thursday I will have a literature table at the Metropolitan Tabernacle.

Sunday after this I will be preaching in Stoke on Trent

Funeral arrangements for Reg Gibson

 Reg with his faithful dog Rocky , he died last year.

Far left Ashley , second from right Rose , a mother and daughter who helped look after Reg

Reg on a mission trip to Croatioa in 1999

A nice crab we shared together a few years ago

The funeral is Thursday 29 June.

1pm Commital Ayr Cemetery

2pm Service at New Prestwick Baptist Church

Pray for a clear gospel message.

Reg. Gibson

Last Sunday after attending the "Broken Chains" meeting I dropped by Reg's house to see him and make arrangements for a small 70th birthday party on Tuesday 20th June. Sadly Reg did not quite get to have a 70th birthday. I found him on the floor of his bedroom at 5 pm. He had taken one step out of bed,  fell forward, and was dead before he hit the floor. His heart gave out just then. He had a terrible lung condition, COPD and could hardly catch his breath for the last two years. 

In October 1988 I began work at the fisherman's Mission in Ayr. About a month later Willie Buchan came to stay at the Mission and committed his life to the Lord. He is still going on strong. Shortly after meeting Willie, I got him to introduce me to Reggie, he was on the drink that day , on the north side of the "New" bridge in Ayr. I said, " God has sent me from Australia to talk to you." Reg said , " I hope He has given you some money to give me." I said," You can have a free coffee at the Fisherman's Mission." 

Thus began a very long friendship. Reg committed his life to Christ on 10th May 1989. He had many ups and downs over the years, He finally gave up the grog about 13 years ago.

There will be a postmortem next Monday and all being well the funeral will be on Thursday 29 June. Committal in Ayr Cemetry at 1pm , service at New Prestwick Baptist Church 2pm , afternoon tea starting at 3pm.

At Prayer for Israel Conference last Saturday

I was just back from the UN, then went down to London and had a literature table at the Prayer for Israel Annual Convention at Tamworth, Staffs. England. Had a great time and met many old friends.

On the train to the conference, I lady who knew me, and was also on the way to the conference, told me about a baby I had helped save. She is nearly 2 years old now. Then a lady at the meeting said she had heard me preach in Hobart.

Several people then said how happy they were that Teresa May was doing a coalition with the Democratic Unionist Party ( DUP ) from Northern Ireland. These are pretty much all born again Christians and very pro-life. Who would have thought there would be a good pro-life influence in Westminster.

Early at the UN.

Here I am early into the UN. Had a very relaxing day yesterday which was Memorial day.
Sadly the NGO I was helping , PFOX,  did  not get accredited.
Fly back to Bonnie Scotland on Thursday.

Fund raiser

Youth raised more money than adults.

Kareem prepares to get it from his son Kennie.

Wham

Result

Goubran family

A serious moment at Church this morning, Pastor Taylor Field prays for Assoc Pastor Kareem Goubran and his family as they go on a 3 month sabbatical. We all prayed for the Lord's blessing and refreshing.

At the UN

Please pray that an NGO called PFOX will get accredited this afternoon.
PFOX is Parents and Friends of Gays and Ex-Gays , a conservative group based in Washington DC , USA

Off to New York this Saturday

Saturday I fly to New York will be at the NGO committee hearings.

Will be helping good NGOs get accredited. Will be there 2 weeks.

Plan to meet up with a few delegates as well.

Off to London today

Am about to catch the train to London.
On Friday evening I will be speaking at a Church in Croydon.
On Saturday I will be speaking to people at the Conservative Christian Fellowship ( a group in the Conservative political party )
On Monday I chair the SPUC Evangelicals Committee meeting.

Please pray for me, that I would have God's favour

Peter Smith

Speaking here tomorrow.

Please pray for me.

Nice day at Church , and off to London for a week

Today, Monday 24 April, I will be getting the train to London. I have several meetings there and I will be preaching at a large Christian meeting next Saturday near London.

Nice shed full of seasoned wood.

Painted woodshed today.

The SPUC team at CPD

Selfie with Maria Madise ( Director SPUC International Operations ), Matthew McCusker ( Assistant Manager SPUC International operations,) and Patrick Buckley who lobbies in New  York and Geneva.

No Document 

So around 6 pm last night the Chair from Qatar announced that there was no agreement and therefore no document. So in the past three years, they have only agreed on a document once. In 2014, no document, in 2015 these was a document agreed, and in 2017 no document. 

Our understanding of what occurred is that deep into last Thursday night the Chair from Qatar agreed on a chairs text with the EU and UNFPA. The Chair wanted family language in the document, and she allowed very bad pro-abortion wording into the document, with a strong sovereignty paragraph. 

When we got the Chair's text we created a firestorm of protest amongst the pro-life countries. Then the US came up with a very poor compromise on paras OP35 and 40. However, the EU was just not happy and there was no agreement.

Then there was the most insane two hours of lamenting and congratulating people. But the most bizarre comment came from the Chines delegate. He was bragging about how low their pre-natal mortality was. I guess he was not counting their hundreds of millions of abortions as mortalities. He was also expressing China's love of UNFPA.

This reminds me of a small discussion I had late last year with the new Chines delegate. He had been avoiding me for most of the year. However last October I was in Conf room 1 and the meeting ended 20 minutes early. When I approached him he tried to claim he had to be at another meeting. I felt like calling him a liar but refrained. I explained that the meeting ended 20 minuted early and he could not possibly have another meeting. I then opened with a very leading question, " Do you think the world would be better off with more Chinese people or less ". An obvious illusion to their one child policy!  He thought for a moment and said he thought more Chinese would be OK. I concurred and we were all happy. I then asked about his personal life. He said he was an only child ( he is in his early thirties ) and his wife is an only child. They have a son and his mother-in-law is there to help with the baby. So he is eligible for getting a second birth permit. I asked , what was your wife's response. He told me she said NO THANKS. 

So the Communist Chines government thinks it can turn off the fertility tap in their country, then turn is back on, they are in for a big shock. LORD HAVE MERCY ON THEM.

The compromise

Around 3,30pm the USA offered a compromised document with changes to paragraphs OP35 & 40., see below

OP35. Urges Governments, the international community and all other relevant stakeholders to give particular attention to the areas of shortfall in the implementation of the Programme of Action, including, the elimination of  preventable maternal morbidity and  mortality through strengthening health systems, equitable and universal access to quality , integrated and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health-care services , and by ensuring the access of adolescents and youth to accurate information and education on sexual and reproductive health including age-appropriate , evidence - based education on human sexuality , and promotion respect and protection of all human rights , especially the human rights of women and girls , and by addressing the persistence of discriminatory laws and the unfair and discriminatory application of laws :

OP40 . Reiterates the need for Governments to recognise the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly  the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so , and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health, as well as the right of women to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality , including sexual and reproductive health free from coercion discrimination and violence as expressed in ICPD and Beijing.

These suggestions were a little better than the Chair's next but not much better.

Last hours of CPD

Here we are in conf room 4. The meeting was called to order at 3pm  yesterday , then suspended until 4.30pm.

Lawyers at work.

Early yesterday morning I gave Prof Collett and her law students a small legal task to critique two paragraphs in the Chair's text.

April 7, 2017

To:      Peter Smith

FR:     Teresa S. Collett, Professor of Law

            University of St. Thomas School of Law[1]

RE:     Analysis of OP35 and OP40

OP35. Urges Governments, the international community and all other relevant stakeholders to give particular attention to the areas of shortfall in the implementation of the Programme of Action, including, the elimination of preventable maternal morbidity and mortality through strengthening health systems, equitable and universal access to quality, integrated and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, and by ensuring the access of adolescents and youth to full and accurate information and education on sexual and reproductive health, including age-appropriate, evidence-based comprehensive education on human sexuality, and promotion, respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights, especially the human rights of women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, and by addressing the persistence of discriminatory laws and the unfair and discriminatory application of laws;

Abortion and other contested practices related to human reproduction

OP35 in the Chair's Text incorporates the ambiguous and contested term "comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services" with no limitation. Absent the limitation "where legal", past history of various UN Expert Committees and UN organs indicates that this paragraph will be used to assert that member states must legalize abortion and other practices that are inconsistent with their domestic law. 

The text relies on an inaccurate understanding of the Programme of Action adopted at the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 5-13 September 1994, which expressly recognized the sovereignty of each state in determining whether abortion should be legal. In paragraphs 7.24, and 8.25 makes clear that abortion is not intended to be considered a "right." The Programme expressly call upon governments to "reduce" and "eliminate the need for" abortion. This language establishes that abortion was not viewed as a human right, but rather a tragic practice the legality of which was to be determined by the domestic law of the member states. 

More specifically both the Cairo and Beijing documents include the language that "Any measures or changes related to abortion within the health system can only be determined at the national or local level according to the national legislative process. Cairo, P. 8.25, Beijing 106(k). This language is completely absent from the Chair's text.

In short by adopting the language “promotion, respect, protection and fulfilment of all human rights, especially the human rights of women and girls, including sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights," nations will be pressured to legalize and fund abortion and other deeply contested practices such as sex reassignment surgery. As more nations succumb to this pressure, activists will then use their coerced compliance with this incorrect interpretation of international documents to argue that abortion and other disputed practices are now an obligation under customary international law.

Education on Human Sexuality

The incorporation of "evidence-based comprehensive education on human sexuality" is equally troubling. There is no international agreement on what this phrase would include. Activists in many nations argue that it would include instruction on genital contact between members of the same sex as well as sexual practices with multiple partners. "Evidenced-based" education abandons the prior language of the Cairo Programme of Action calling for "integrated approach" Cairo 4.20. 

Absent from the Chair's text is language that recognizes the role of parents and the objective of safe, secure and harmonious family lives. See Cairo, 4.29. Similarly unlike the Convention of the Rights of the Child which recognizes that parents are to be deeply involved in any instruction on this sensitive topic, this Chair's text fails to acknowledge that rights of parents in this area. "Support should be given to integral sexual education and services for young people, with the support and guidance of their parents and in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child . . . . Educational efforts should begin within the family unit, in the community and in the schools at an appropriate age . . ." Cairo, 7.37. See also Cairo 7. 47 “Adolescents must be fully involved in the planning implementation and evaluation of such information and services with proper regard for parental guidance and responsibilities. The Beijing Platform for Action similarly recognized the rights and duties of parents in the development and dissemination of information on sexual health. The Beijing Platform for Action, Strategic Objective C2.107).

I recommend that this language be rejected absent substantial modification and limitations.

OP40

OP40. Reiterates the need for Governments to ensure that all women and men have comprehensive information about, and access to, a choice of the widest possible range of safe, effective, affordable and acceptable modern methods of family planning, including long-acting methods and male and female condoms, and to ensure the right of all individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health, and the right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence, as expressed in human rights documents; 

Similar to the concerns expressed about OP35 this paragraph introduces ambiguous language that is inconsistent with the more narrow language found in the Cairo and Beijing documents. By using the word “reiterates” the text appears to restate current international agreements. This is simply false.

Completely absent from the chair’s text is any reference to sovereignty, yet this limitation is explicit in both  Beijing and Cairo documents (“in accordance with the law”).(“Any measures or changes related to abortion within the health system can only be determined at the national or local level”) (Cairo 8.25).

Even more troubling is the second clause creating a “right of all individuals” (highlighted above), which purports to create a right that  would include children and youth of all ages to “have control over and decide freely” on “matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health . . .” This is not the current state of international law. There is no limitation as to age or development of the children, nor are the rights and duties of parents acknowledged in the OP40.

I recommend that this language be rejected absent substantial modification and limitations.

I would be happy to discuss this further with you at your convenience

---

[1] University of St. Thomas School of Law, 1000 LaSalle Avenue, Minneapolis, MN USA 55403. University affiliation is provided for identification purposes only.

This opinion was sent to many delegates that we knew would be instrumental in accepting or rejecting this terrible document.

Our good friends at Family Watch International , Sharan Slater and Annie Franklin sent the following e-mail to delegates yesterday morning.

Dear all:

Regarding the 50^th session of the Commission for Population and Development:

The defunding of UNFPA by the US has been mentioned in nearly every meeting here with rancor towards the US. Our group of pro-life, pro-family NGO’s have been seeing UNFPA and IPPF lackeys scurrying about to the African delegates and NGO’s.

Find attached the terrible chair text that was released this morning.

Find below the email we just sent to the CPD family and life friendly delegates to get them mad enough to do something about the Chair text that was just released. Feel free to forward any of this to friendly government contacts you might have.

Dear Friends of the Family:

NO DOCUMENT IS BETTER THAN A BAD DOCUMENT THAT HURTS CHILDREN!

The chair's text (attached) is completely unacceptable. It includes among other things:

• SRH and RR with no caveats

• CSE in the usual deceptive formulation of "comprehensive education on human sexuality" with the deceptive and supposed  "age appropriate" modifier which is totally meaningless since CSE proponents including WHO encourage sexual activity for children at the youngest ages.
•  
• It grants sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights a a human right for "girls" (as young as 10). 
•  
• It grants the right to control of sexuality "to all individuals" (which includes children) and implies this is a right in "human rights documents."
•  
• It calls for "comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services" with no caveats whatsoever
• It takes note of "the outcome documents of the regional review conferences on population and development"  a number of which promote SOGI, CSE, SR, RR and more. 
• It makes no mention of parents or parental rights or the role they have in directing their education and instead grants autonomous rights to children. 

The 3 min. video linked to below is a brief excerpt from the UN webcast of the historic CPD 48 debate where the African Group refused to be coerced into accepting CSE and RR. 

This was a major victory for children and family!

And this chair's text is much worse then the CPD 48 document that the African Group rejected. 

See https://vimeo.com/127884947 (You may need to use password "2")

FOR THE SAKE OF CHILDREN. PLEASE STAND STRONG AND REJECT THIS CHAIR'S TEXT

Sharon Slater & Annie Franklin

On behalf of the UN Family Rights Caucus and Family Watch International

I believe our friends at C-Fam and ADF were doing very similar things with their contacts.