What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You

From the Desk of Carol Soelberg:
What a tragedy!  United Families International mourns with the rest of the world the senseless loss of 28 precious lives in the recent Connecticut school shooting.  While we don’t pretend to have explanations or answers for such a tragedy, we are energized in our plea to strengthen the moral fiber of our homes that love and reverence for humanity will be increased around the world. Our director of Family Strengthening, Bobbie Jager, shares with us some additional thoughts on strengthening our homes in a blog that can be found here.

UFI touts as its flagship program our work at the United Nations.  You may have wondered why.  What influence can we possibly have there? And, what difference does it make to you?  In the article below our Director of International Voice for Youth (IVY) answers those questions and tells why our UN work is so critical!

She quotes the late Richard Wilkins who spent many years and exerted tremendous influence at the UN as saying“international law is now concerned with nearly every important aspect of modern society – marriage, role of mothers & fathers, gender identity, parenting, and sexual freedom.” 
Our being at the UN exerting our influence on outcome documents is critical to YOUR family’s protection.  I invite you to read on.  I plead with you to not only do something today to increase the love in your home, but to GIVE something to day to allow us  to protect your  RIGHT to do so!
 

Sincerely,
Carol Soelberg
President, United Families International


What you don’t know can hurt you.

Many individuals believe that the United Nations (U.N.) has little to no impact on their family – but the truth is the U.N. has everything to do with your family and for families for generations to come.  The late law professor and pro-family giant, Richard Wilkins, stated what United Families representatives have come to witness at the U.N. and it is this: “international law is now concerned with nearly every important aspect of modern society – marriage, role of mothers & fathers, gender identity, parenting, and sexual freedom.”
Unfortunately, many of the views promoted at the U.N. do not align with the values of traditional families. That is why it is essential that United Families International teams are at these critical meetings – to not only be the eyes and ears, but to defend the family against dangerous ideas and language.

As with any system that negatively impacts your family, it is critical to become educated on how it functions and how to protect your family from its influence. Important to this understanding is recognizing that in most instances, “the pen is mightier than the sword!”

So how is it that the UN is able to have so much influence?

U.N. conference declarations are created to shape and direct the actions of nations, thereby facilitating the development of customary law. U.N. conference documents, although not technically binding upon participating nations, nevertheless are an important influence in shaping and solidifying the normative concepts of international law. They become “good practice standards” which then becomes the “norm.”
Many people will say, “But our country has its own constitution.  The UN surely can’t override that.” Using the United States as an example, here’s how it can be done.

1. The U.S. can ratify a treaty therefore becoming accountable to a UN review and compliance committee.
2. Judges have relied, in part, on international documents to make legal decision such as in the case of Thompson v. Oklahoma which addressed the death penalty for minors.
   
3. Presidential administration such as the Clinton administration formed an inter-agency task force and commission to implement the Beijing document which was not ratified by the U.S. and is harmful to the traditional role of mothers and promotes abortion.

Here are two U.N. terms that you might hear regularly in the news:

• A convention (sometimes called a covenant) is a legally binding treaty, coming into force upon ratification by a certain number of member state countries.

• A declaration is not legally binding but carries moral weight because it is adopted by the international community. (and is enforced by U.N. agencies)

How is a U.N. treaty ratified? 

This process varies in different countries.  But in the United States the Executive Branch must initiate the process to ratify.  Then the treaty is reviewed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the State Department and finally needs to receive at least a two-thirds vote by the full Senate and then signed by the President.

Outlining the U.N. Anti-Family Strategy 
A wise religious leader said that the opposition uses specific tools in order to move forward their agenda.

-uses logic to confuse
-uses rationalizations to destroy
-will shade meanings
-opens doors an inch at a time
-leads from purest white through all the shades of gray to the darkest black

Uses logic to confuse

An example is how the U.N. scares citizens of the world into believing that the planet is becoming overpopulated and thus our natural resources are going to be depleted or destroyed. Therefore, we need to “control” and reduce human reproduction. The first time this was mentioned at a U.N. conference was in 1972.  There a document was produced that stated that, “The natural growth of population continuously presents problems for the preservation of the environment, and adequate policies and measures should be adopted, as appropriate, to face these problems.”

Since 1972, the U.N. has continued to promote the understanding that human beings are at the center of concerns for sustainable development and that “demography is destiny” – meaning we must decrease, monitor and control population growth. There is even an underlying theme that runs through U.N. dialogue and debate that suggests that the best way to eradicate poverty is to eradicate the poor – solve the problem by making sure the “poor” are not born.

Rationalizations

The U.N. pens documents that purport to promote the well-being of children, women, and families, while sliding in wording that, among other things, takes away the rights of parents, undermines the importance of marriage, and promotes abortion.

An example would be the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) which protects children by stating that “no one under the age of 15 should have to fight in a war” –  a wise and rational rule – but yet the CRC undermines the parental role in other paragraphs by giving children rights to unfettered freedoms, such as no parental controls over the information they receive, no parental say regarding their child’s religious instruction or attendance, and no parental input in their child’s sex education and choices.  Children are also given power to petition the government to intervene on their behalf to override parental decisions.

Shaded meanings

During document negotiations, “constructive ambiguity” is a preferred and practiced technique.  Those who wish to undermine family and traditional values intentionally insert terms that are vague and then refuse to allow a definition to be placed in the language of the document.  Over time they know that these “elastic words” can be manipulated and given new meaning – a meaning that would never be accepted if defined from the outset. One of the best examples is the term “reproductive rights” which is a term that has become synonymous with abortion. Another is the word “gender” which no longer means simply man or woman, but has evolved to mean a plethora of sexual behaviors and identities.  

Opening the door an inch at a time 

Professor Richard Wilkins outlined how the U.N. slowly breaks down traditional values one step at a time:
Introduces a concept:
1994 Cairo Conference on Population and Development was first to contain  language in support of abortion, euthanasia, & hinted at same-sex rights.

Then defines and amplifies concepts:
1995 Beijing World Conference on Women emphasized population control and to end all “abuse” of women. The conference promoted:

• Women only meet their highest and best use when employed outside the home.

• Urged governments of the world to establish day care centers that would free women from what they perceived as being the servitude of caring for children.

• Marriage is discussed as oppressive.

• No restrictions on abortion (cautions against using abortion as a method of “family planning.”)

• Language that states that gender is a nothing more than a “social construct” pushing forward the understanding of more than two genders.    

Then the groundwork is laid for implementation of concepts
A the U.N. conference Habitat II (1996) anti-family delegations were able to layer in objectives that placed specific conditions and requirements upon members of the international community – asking for implementation commitments from countries.

Protecting your family from destructive forces at the U.N.

Because the U.N. is not readily accessible, one of the best ways to stay abreast and involved is to have a U.N. Eco/Soc accredited pro-family organization like United Families International be your eyes, ears, and voice. UFI team members have been successful at penetrating meetings, deciphering the language, and helping like-minded delegates to “keep the bad stuff out and put the good stuff in.”  We let you know what is really happening at the U.N. and alert you to the ways you can help.

But in turn, we need your help!  In 2013 there is a new round of UN conferences where traditional values and family will be under assault.  The strategy of the anti-family groups becomes more and more sophisticated, but we are confident that we can counter their efforts.  But we have to be there to do it!  UFI is primarily a volunteer organization and funding is the only way for team members to be able to attend.
Please help us to help you and your family by donating money or air miles today.  We are continually amazed at how small numbers of pro-family advocates are able to stop the liberal, anti-family Goliath at the U.N.

Be a part of this crucial effort and donate today.