WASHINGTON, D.C., October 5, 2016 (LifeSiteNews)—At the expense of U.S. taxpayers, the Organization of American States (OAS) is funding “cultural imperialism” related to abortion and marriage in Central and South America, Senators Mike Lee, R-UT, and Marco Rubio, R-FL, wrote in a new letter to the State Department.
“We have concerns that [OAS]—to which the U.S. is the largest donor—is misusing its resources and influence in the region,” the senators wrote. They said Central and South American officials have told them “that their own national sovereignty is threatened by what they view as ‘cultural imperialism imposed by an organization that is seemingly more concerned with pushing an ideological agenda than respecting the local rule of law.’”
“U.S. democracy aid and foreign assistance should not be utilized to compromise the laws enacted by a nation’s democratically elected leaders,” they continued, noting that there have also been “cases of judicial over-reach by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, often subverting laws on matters pertaining to issues like abortion and marriage.”
This “legally unfounded agenda” would “not be tolerated” in the United States, Lee and Rubio wrote. One such “egregious” instance, the senators asserted, was the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ imposition of in-vitro fertilization on Costa Rica. The Court undermined Costa Rica’s constitutional system by overturning a decision from the Constitutional Tribunal of Costa Rica banning the practice, which often destroys unwanted human embryos, and validating an unconstitutional presidential decree about it.
“Whatever one’s views about IVF, there is no justification for an international entity to impose its views on this issue on Costa Rica,” Lee and Cruz wrote.
The senators requested an in-person briefing from State Department officials, which it is supposed to provide quarterly to the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee under the OAS Revitalization and Reform Act of 2013.
“It is not clear that the State Department is implementing the requirements of this law,” they wrote.
The United States provided 41.7 percent of OAS’s 2015 budget.
OAS has come under fire before for promoting homosexual ideology and pressuring Paraguay and other Latin American countries to liberalize their abortion laws.
The State Department has also been criticized for exporting the LGBT agenda abroad, notably through its creation of the Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons. In 2013, Secretary of State John Kerry said that promoting LGBT rights is “at the very heart” of U.S. foreign policy.
“Across the globe, in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas our diplomats are assisting local LGBT organizations and supporting local human rights advocates working to promote equality, create dialogue, and ensure protections for LGBT individuals,” Kerry said at the time.