Christian-conservative organizations draw attention to the fact that the forces protecting the traditional family image are deliberately and forcefully silenced in the UN.
The UN Human Rights Council drafted a report on the relationship between faith and LGBTQ discrimination, which was recently discussed at the organization's headquarters in Geneva, during the council's 53rd session*. In addition to governments, liberal organizations and LGBTQ lobby groups also participated in the discussion of the report written by Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN's independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).
After the meeting, Christian rights defenders complained that while the transgender activists were given the floor at the beginning of the meetings,
the members of the conservative organizations who applied to speak were listed at the end of the speaking lists, and the meeting was regularly closed before they could take their turn.
Sebastian Lukomski did the same: ten radical left-wing speeches were delivered before the Polish Christian activist, and then the presiding chairman closed the meeting before the conservative delegate had approached the pulpit. Lukomski later put it like this;
"I painfully watched with my own eyes that for the majority of the UN delegates, the freedom to practice our faith ends as soon as they are placed on a scale with the so-called "LGBTQ rights".
Christian-conservative organizations are now drawing attention to the fact that the forces protecting the traditional family image are being deliberately and forcefully silenced in the UN.
The strategy of the defenders of values, which was largely thwarted at the plenary session, therefore basically focused on bilateral meetings: in the framework of this, the conservative organizations conducted negotiations with the delegations of many member states in order to convince them of the importance of religious freedom. The Holy See received a positive reception mainly from Muslim countries, including Turkey and Egypt, and Nigeria, which has a large population of Christians and Muslims, spectacularly expressed its support for the conservative position.
CitizenGO also tried to exert international pressure: the Christian organization based in Spain and active in many countries (including our country) collected 223 thousand signatures
freedom of religion and conscience cannot be pushed into the background so that an organization bringing together the sovereign countries of the world can meet the agenda of a lobby group.
Among the content objections of the conservative critics of the report is, among other things, that the document identifies the freedom of conscience of doctors as a problem, referring to which doctors (based on their religious and moral convictions) can still refuse to perform abortions or hormonal treatments leading to "gender reassignment" surgeries. In addition, the report considers it necessary to create a "new normative space", under which individual governments could legally override religious principles and oblige their citizens to accept certain LGBTQ fundamentals. This should be emphasized,
the document urges sanctions against religious organizations that refuse to accept the fundamentals of LGBTQ doctrine.
In addition, the rapporteur calls for the banning of so-called reparative therapies carried out in religious settings, which may limit the freedom of priests and pastors to help people with homosexual attraction or other sexual or identity problems who come to them and ask for help based on their own decision.
By the way, the Madrigal-Borloz report complains that the major religions have family definitions that do not integrate LGBTQ people, and discusses harmful "religious narratives". According to the report, "Unless all religions support LGBTQ ideals, people with this identity will be excluded and marginalized, causing them pain, mental health problems, even suicide, and ultimately a violation of their human rights." That is, not the acceptance of individuals and their specific situation, but
they expect unconditional adherence to LGBTQ ideology from religions and their followers, regardless of their own beliefs.
*Currently, 47 countries participate directly in the work of the specialized organization operating on a rotational basis
The report under serial number A/HRC/53/37 is available and can be downloaded via this link
Featured image: MTI/EPA/KEYSTONE/Martial Trezzini