By Hilary White
NEW YORK, August 26, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A UN agency has issued a report calling for all children in all countries to be taught about sex, “reproductive” and “gender” issues. United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has issued a report, titled “International Guidelines on Sexual Education,” that claims that international law requires States to “provide sexuality education in primary and secondary schools.” The report says children should be given explicit information on sex from the age of five as an “entitlement”.
“Sexuality education,” the report says, “is part of the duty…of education and health authorities and institutions.”
The report complains that children's knowledge of sex is hampered “by embarrassment, silence, and disapproval of open discussion of sexual matters by adults”.
In what may be a swipe at Uganda's highly successful AIDS prevention programme focusing on abstinence and fidelity in marrige, the UNESCO report notes the “experience in Uganda” that “reveals that young people living with HIV are often discriminated against by sexual and reproductive health services and are actively discouraged from becoming sexually active.”
As with most “progressive” demands for explicit sexual information for children, the rationale is to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unintended pregnancy. This despite increasing evidence on the ground that such “education” increases these and other social ills.
“Few young people receive adequate preparation for their sexual lives. This leaves them potentially vulnerable to coercion, abuse and exploitation, unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV,” the report says.
“It is therefore essential to recognise the need and entitlement of all young people to sexuality education.”
The report was released in June in conjunction with the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), an organization which works for universal access to “reproductive health care.” UNESCO has long been a major supporter of the United Nations' population control projects, including coercive abortion, in its overseas work. Also consulting in the report were “recognised experts” with UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, both organisations heavily invested in abortion and contraceptives as part of the international population control project.
Included in what the report calls its “rights-based approach”, are issues like “sexual and reproductive rights,” the role of women within families, the “right and access to safe abortion.”
Despite insisting that parents should be included in consultations on age-appropriateness of the sex education programmes, the report repeatedly asserts that teachers and government-approved programmes are most responsible for children's well being.
“In a context where ignorance and misinformation can be life-threatening, sexuality education is part of the duty of care of education and health authorities and institutions.
“Teachers in the classroom have a responsibility to act in the place of parents, contributing towards ensuring the protection and well-being of children and young people.”
Pdf version of the UNESCO report (Adobe required)
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
UNESCO Calls Abortion on Demand “Proper” Medical Procedure for Girls
Find a full listing of LifeSiteNews' coverage of the Ontario government's explicit sex-ed program here.