The International Coalition4Children Inc. Declaration
As parents, caregivers, educators, and concerned citizens, we have grave concerns about the damaging impact that the United Nations (UN) and World Health Organisation's (WHO) Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) guidance "International Technical Guidance on Sexuality Education" has on children's physical, mental, emotional and social health.
We declare that - parents and caregivers are the indisputable primary and most influential educators in their children's lives, entrusted with the responsibility of protecting their inalienable birthright, including innocence and dignity. Parents and caregivers are the first and foremost authority in a child's life, until the child is the legal age of majority at 18 years old. This prerogative includes ensuring that our children's education aligns with our instilled values and cultural traditions, and with our children's understanding of age-appropriate content. Educators and concerned citizens have the societal obligation to protect the vulnerable and the impressionable, which includes children, from all forms of abuse, coercion, confusion, and indoctrination.
We note that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reaffirms that "parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children". This article inspired the two related provisions in the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which impose an obligation upon States Parties to have respect for the liberty of parents to ensure the religious and moral education of their children in conformity with their own convictions" (ICCPR, Art. 18(4) and ICESCR, Art. 13(3)). Parents cannot effectively exercise their prior right to determine the religious and moral education of their children in a school environment that propagates one understanding of sexuality and even actively opposes the other.
We declare that the current UN CSE material is overtly and subtly explicit, exploitative and sexualised and therefore inappropriate for minors. By providing this CSE material in an educational setting, we assert that the WHO and UN are overstepping their boundaries, thereby superseding and undermining our parental rights to guide our children's development. We assert, in alignment with international human rights law, that moral and ethical teachings on sexuality and relationships are the sole jurisdiction of the family.
Therefore, for the well-being of our children, we urge leaders to recognise the unequivocal rights of parents and caregivers as the primary decision-makers for their children's education, and we call for a dialogue with the WHO to address our concerns and to immediately cease the use of CSE in its current state, until States reach consensus on an alternative approach. If the WHO and the UN are unwilling to meet and dialogue with us, we call on our nations to unequivocally oppose the WHO and UN's promotion of CSE in international fora.
Sign this petition if you agree that children deserve education that aligns with family values and respects the authority of parents.