A most excellent reservation by the Holy See at CSW62.

Statement by Mon. Tomasz Grysa made last Friday  23rd of March 2018.

Madam Chair,

My delegation would like to thank you, your team and the Bureau for your commitment to achieving consensus during this year’s informal negotiations of the Agreed Conclusions, which address the challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls.


In particular, my delegation commends the willingness of delegations to stress the need for authentic improvements in the welfare of rural women around the world, and the invaluable contributions of rural women and girls to their family, the economy, and society at large, which are still not adequately recognized. We are also pleased to see the promotion of policies and initiatives that support rural women in the context of the family.


My delegation acknowledges the great difficulties that arose in coming to consensus this year and would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Member States and Groups that worked diligently to reach the consensus. We thank in particular the facilitator for his thoughtful and decisive leadership throughout the process. I would like to emphasize that, in our understanding, the true consensus is fruit of real negotiations, free from pressure, based on trust and respect for the national sovereignty of all States.


In this regard, highly problematic remain the paragraphs on “sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights,” and on education for “sexual and reproductive health”. My delegation notes that these issues remain far from being consensual as they are still strongly contested by many States, and highlights the importance of considering these paragraphs in line with international law.

While affirming the intention and purpose of the conclusions before us, as outlined above, my delegation wishes to make reservations on the following concepts used therein:


1. The Holy See interprets the terms “, sexual and reproductive health,” “reproductive right” and “family planning” as applying to a holistic concept of health. We do not consider abortion, access to abortion, or access to abortifacients as a dimension of these terms. We do not
recognize the creation of any new rights or the promotion of radical individual autonomy in this regard, as fully laid out in our reservations registered at both Cairo and Beijing conferences. We do not understand reproductive rights, by any means, as a prerequisite for economic empowerment or development.


2. Regarding “education” or “information” on “sexual and reproductive health,” my delegation reaffirms the “primary responsibility” and the “prior rights” of parents in the education and upbringing of their children, as enshrined, inter alia, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the Convention of the Rights of the Child.


3. With reference to "gender", the Holy See understands the term to be grounded in biological sexual identity and difference. Regarding the concepts of “gender norms” and “gender stereotypes,” the Holy See does not recognize the idea that gender is socially constructed, but that is found in the objective identity of the human person born as male or female.


Thank you, Madam Chair.