Henk Jan van Schothorst
Published December 7, 2021
In Reformatorisch Dagblad
A National Daily Newspaper in the Netherlands
On the international fronts of protection of human life, marriage and family, freedom and sovereignty, things are never quiet. These weeks are also tense and important. We cite a few examples.
On Monday December 6, the so-called ‘Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Ministerial Commitment’ on education and health for the well-being of adolescents and young people (10-24 years) in the region was to be signed. Those who read through the proposed text quickly see that it looks more like an imposed guide to the promotion of rights-based and sexualized education than to improve the health and well-being of African teens and young adults. On Tuesday, it was not yet clear whether it had actually been signed. This commitment is made by 21 African countries for the coming ten years and affects some 600 million people. The agreement is strongly pushed with technical and financial support from the United Nations (UN) and affiliated organizations; mostly from progressive Western countries.
Role of parents
In many African countries, as well as Eastern European and other non-Western countries, the traditional concept of marriage and family, and the place and task of parents in parenting are highly valued. These are embedded in their cultures and enshrined in international and national legislation. These values do not appear anywhere in the document. This commitment requires African countries to teach unrestricted sex or provide information about it to children and adolescents as young as 10 years old, with the only restriction of mutual consent. Sexual education manuals cover issues such as the right to sexual pleasure, masturbation, gender identity and lessons in sexual orientation. Free access for girls and women to abortion facilities are also covered.
Terms are used that sound acceptable, but they are not explained anywhere. They are open to interpretation, such as "age-appropriate," "evidence-based," and "youth-friendly." In addition, the agreement speaks of extracurricular sexual education programs, but it remains unclear who are supposed to provide these programs and who’s values will be proclaimed. To mention no more, the convention speaks of "sexual and reproductive health with psychological assistance"; code language for abortion.
Behind these veiled words is the ideal of Western loose sexual morality. The goal is to entice African children to follow it.
However, such type of sex education is not a government task, and certainly not of Western governments and the agencies and international organizations they subsidize. Because let's face it: is the superior West really the right example today to show what the Biblical way of dealing with each other is; both relationally and sexually?
Discomfort
"Young People Today" is a subsidized platform that promotes the implementation of the ESA Commitment, and thus the promoter of progressive sexuality education, among African youth. We found out that an online meeting was convened by this platform with permanent secretariats of ESA countries with the support of the UN. They came up with a recommendation for the adoption of this commitment. Many representatives from Eastern and Southern Africa had at least comments, came up with amendments or did not want to take a position. Some were not present simply because they were unaware that this was to be signed. The discomfort of the representatives dripped off.
And what of all the ordinary African people, unaware of this commitment? In the vast majority of ESA countries, they have opted for prolife and profamily laws. With this commitment, their children are taken away from their parents, exposed and handed over to these morally destructive ideologies and practices coming from outside Africa.
Undermine sovereignty
A similar tactic is being employed by the European Union (EU). A proposed partnership agreement with 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries has cleverly inserted similar and deeply troubling issues. In this 20-year binding agreement, there is imposed introduction of abortion facilities and comprehensive sexuality education out of parents' sight.
Apart from the fact that these issues are outside the competence of the EU, they go against national laws of these countries and undermine their sovereignty. Nice ‘partnership’.
The agreement still has to be ratified by parliaments and therein lays the space to indicate that national sovereignty and democratically created regulations in countries should be respected by the EU. That is why our foundation draws the attention of governments to the scope of the provisions brought in according to the leading European progressive interpretation.
At the global level, the UN is implementing a gender ideology agenda. In a committee resolution on strengthening the role of the UN in promoting elections and, note, democratization, crafty Western negotiators managed to insert the internationally non-legal and controversial terms "sexual orientation and gender identity." An amendment against this inclusion was defeated by 58 votes in favor, 13 abstentions and 90 votes against. Surely it is difficult to discern consensus from this. Under Western pressure, none of the countries had the courage to put the final result to a final vote. If it is not put to a vote in the UN General Assembly in the near future, this terminology will, for the first time, be considered consensual language within the UN and the floodgates will open for use in numerous other resolutions and policies. So, lots of work to be done.
Discrimination
Aside from all this, in November 2021, a UN expert on sexual orientation and gender identity released a controversial report on gender reassignment. Gender should no longer be based on biological sex characteristics, but on a self-chosen gender identity. Any country or organization that does not accept this radical gender ideology as a scientific theory should be placed on a "black" list and charged with discrimination and hate speech.
The West, using the United Nations, seems to be engaged in a coordinated, frontal attack on life, family and freedoms, especially those of religion and education. It imposes values on conservative people and countries in an imperialist, neo-colonial way. Traditional and democratically established values are under pressure in these countries because of this Western agenda. These goals and practices need to be critically examined and stopped. Nothing less than our civilization is at stake.
The author is President and Executive Director of Christian Council International
https://www.christiancouncilinternational.org/
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