NEW YORK, May 3, 2001 (LSN.ca) – LifeSite reporters are on the scene at the Intercessional meeting for the preparatory committee for the Special Session of the General Assembly on Children. They report that the European Union, Canada and Latin American countries are pushing for anti-life and anti-family additions to the outcome document. After a January preparatory conference, where many member states expressed displeasure with the draft document “A World Fit For Children,” the document was redrafted, giving rise to the current intercessional meeting.
The European Union, pushing its social leftist agenda, is seeking to include a statement on “the changing role of men” and wants to see a reference to creating legislation to advance the rights of the child. Canada is in league with the EU, pushing for “a new section in the document to recognize that various forms of the family exist.” The Canadian delegation would also like to see the document “reflect gender mainstreaming and provide a link between women’s rights and children’s rights”.
A refreshing relief came from the United States delegation which said, “Family plays a key role in a child’s life.” It joined the Holy See in calling for a strengthening of family and parental rights in the document. One US representative pointed out the ridiculous feminist language in the document noting, “when I showed the document to my 11 year old daughter and 15 year old son, my daughter said: why are we only trying to eliminate discrimination against girls? Isn’t that discriminating against boys?” The US also said that the inclusion of corporal punishment, as something that children need to be protected from, “would not be acceptable”.