Organization of American States Adopts Divisive Resolution in Lima, Peru

By | October 13, 2022

LIMA, PERU, October 14 (C-Fam) Leaders of the Organization of American States seemed to oppose their own people this week when they codified abortion and gender ideology as human rights.

Delegates from the Americas met last week in Lima, Peru for the 52nd General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS). Member states convene annually to discuss international policy and the development of democracy, with sessions functioning similarly to United Nations. This year, the proclamation of the Assembly was “together against inequality and discrimination.”

The most contentious was a resolution for the “Promotion and Protection of Human Rights” that urges leaders to strengthen “access to sexual and reproductive health” and ensure “gender mainstreaming in all OAS organizations and bodies.” It also calls for educating leadership and the public on “gender diverse persons,” and other homosexual/trans terms.

The bulk of the resolution affirms progressive gender ideologies and language, insisted upon by larger countries including the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Pro-abortion and homosexual/trans language was also used in speeches by many delegates during proceedings. Women were no longer addressed as women, but “women in all their diversity.”

Despite the overwhelming presence of progressive leaders and their supporting documents, the audience of the OAS Assembly consisted largely of conservative civil society organizations. In the Assembly, the coalitions of civil society groups were allotted time to present their views to the delegates. Many expressed frustrations at the ideological nature of the Assembly that paid no attention to pressing problems in the Americas such as poverty, corruption, and fundamental causes of inequality and discrimination in Latin America.

“The gender discourse takes away visibility from the real problems of women,” said María Luisa Neira of the Coalition for Human Development, “from the definition of the human person, and undermines the role of the family.”

The word “poverty” was mentioned once in the 56-page resolution. “Gender” was included over thirty times.

Nohemí Manzanera, a 16 year old from Mexico, told the delegates, “Our societies are not on a road to progress. Although people claim they are progressive, what we are experiencing is political and social decadence.”

Almost all conservative coalitions criticized the OAS for disregarding the culture and values of Latino countries that are rooted in Christian traditions, citing discrimination against religious freedoms and the imposition of ideology in institutions. The delegate of Guatemala agreed and cited the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, reminding delegates that true democracies protect life and the family as the foundations of society.

Peru has historically been a target of discrimination against larger families. In the late 20th century, contraceptives, forced sterilizations, and the “total extermination” of Peru’s poor for the sake of “economic interest” was programmed by the Peruvian government. During this time, USAID and other western NGO’s partnered with Peru for “family planning” purposes. To many Peruvians, the new human rights resolution is a continuation of this western agenda by foreign powers, intent on culturally engineering leftist societies in Latin America.

Over twenty-five thousand Peruvians and other Latinos gathered on the streets of Lima to protest the pro-abortion and gender slant of the Assembly.

With such a controversial document under consideration, observers were shocked when the chairman allowed only 30 minutes for debate. It is reported that the United States and Canada were the driving forces for abortion and homosexual/trans language in the document.

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