World Health Assembly Rejects Comprehensive Sexuality Education

By | June 3, 2021

GENEVA, June 4 (C-Fam) The World Health Assembly rejected language about “comprehensive sexuality education” backed by the Biden administration and Western governments.

The Russian Federation and a coalition of African countries led the World Health Assembly to reject the term “comprehensive sexuality education” in a resolution on violence against children during the annual meeting of the governing body of the World Health Organization.

The rejection was a stinging defeat for the Biden administration and powerful progressive countries who promote western sexual mores through international policies. The defeat is made all the more significant as the World Health Assembly has gained importance and visibility during the COVID-19 pandemic. It could set a precedent for future UN negotiations, including ongoing negotiations of a political declaration on HIV/AIDS.

The Russian Federation and its allies attempted to replace language about “comprehensive sexuality education” in the resolution with previously agreed terminology about education on “sexual and reproductive health.” The sponsors nixed the entire paragraph rather than compromise.

The result withholds the approval of the World Health Assembly for the controversial sex education programs promoted under the label “comprehensive sexuality education.” Any programs sponsored by international agencies under this rubric cannot be automatically considered to have the approval of the World Health Organization’s governing body.

Diplomats representing the United States, Canada, Europe, and other progressive countries complained about the amendment in a joint statement.

“We want to take this opportunity to again reiterate our support for comprehensive sexuality education for children to realize their health, well-being and dignity,” Argentina said on behalf of 37 countries. Their statement also said that the term “comprehensive sexuality education” was “based” on previous UN agreements, and that language in UN agreements must “evolve.”

The UN system published a global guidance on “comprehensive sexuality education” in 2018 that has made the term more controversial than ever. From the age of five, the UN guidance proposes teaching children that gender is a social construct, and it promotes masturbation as normal from the age of 10. It includes teaching grade-school children about various types of “non-traditional families” with a heavy emphasis on LGBTI rights.

The UN system’s guidance on sexuality education also promotes access to contraception and abortion for children—so much so that abortion industry giants like International Planned Parenthood Federation, and UN agencies openly admit that comprehensive sexuality education programs is designed to create “demand” for their services.

Questions also remain about the efficacy of comprehensive sexuality education programs. Despite claims that “comprehensive sexuality education” is necessary to protect children’s health, there is no evidence that comprehensive sexuality education reduces risk-taking behavior, HIV/AIDS transmission, the transmission of other sexually transmitted diseases, and teenage pregnancy. On the contrary, a recent global review of comprehensive sexuality education programming found evidence that it does the opposite. Even the background research included in the UN global guidance on sexuality education includes damning information about the overall failure of “comprehensive sexuality education” programs to protect the health of children and promote sexual responsibility.

The U.S. Mission to the United Nations has not responded to the Friday Fax’s repeated requests for clarification on the position of the U.S. government on “comprehensive sexuality education” in recent months.

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