Contact: Don Feder, Communications Director, World Congress of Families, 508-405-1337, dfeder@rcn.com; The Howard Center at 815-964-5819

MEDIA ADVISORY, Oct. 22 /Christian Newswire/ -- World Congress of Families Managing Director Larry Jacobs decried what he called "feminist disinformation" on a resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council affirming "traditional values."  The resolution also calls for a UN workshop in 2010 to examine the way traditional values are the foundation for human rights: http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/sdpage_e.aspx?b=10&se=100&t=4.

Sponsored by the Russian Federation, the resolution was passed by a vote of 26 to 15, with 6 abstentions.  Just like the Amsterdam Declaration adopted by World Congress of  Families V (www.worldcongress.org/WCF5/wcf5.dec.htm), the resolution reaffirms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 

Feminists have since gone ballistic, citing the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, who identifies "traditional practices" to include "female genital mutilation, honor killings, spousal abuse, dowry-related violence and customary laws that deny women equality."

Jacobs responded: "Only radical feminists would consider honor killings and female genital mutilation to be 'traditional values.' These odious practices of violence are confined to a few societies worldwide, and should continue to be eradicated."

Jacobs continued: "When the World Congress of Families, and the international pro-family movement, speaks of traditional values, we mean those that support the natural family -- including parental rights, respect for the rights of the unborn and infirm, freedom to practice religious faith, and a recognition of the different but co-equal roles of men and women in the family."

Even the term "natural family" derives from the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which says the family is "the natural and fundamental group unit of society, and is entitled to protection by society and the state."

Jacobs observes: "In the past, instead of helping women, children and victims of violence by enforcing the existing human rights provisions in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, radical feminists and their allies have used various United Nations agencies to try to force agenda-driven sex education, condom-distribution, abortion, and homosexuality on traditional societies.  The UN Human Rights Council Resolution on 'Traditional Values' represents a threat to the radical feminist, homosexual and pro-abortion goals, not an endorsement of spousal abuse."

Jacobs concluded: "The Russian Federation is to be congratulated for sponsoring this affirmation of the rights of families in the face of various onslaughts by international bodies.  Russia may be prompted in part by its own experience and understandable concern about the nation's very low birth rate and decline in traditional family formation.  Whatever the reason, we are grateful for Russia's move in support of traditional values and the natural family."

World Congress of Families has held five international Congresses, from 1997 to 2009. The last was World Congress of Families V in Amsterdam, August 10-12 of this year (www.worldcongress.nl).

For more information on the World Congress of Families, visit www.worldcongress.org.  To schedule an interview with Managing Director Larry Jacobs, contact Communications Director Don Feder at 508-405-1337 or dfeder@rcn.com.

The World Congress of Families (WCF) is an international network of pro-family organizations, scholars, leaders and people of goodwill from more than 60  countries that seek to restore the natural family as the fundamental social unit and the 'seedbed' of civil society (as found in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948).  The WCF was founded in 1997 by Allan Carlson and is a project of The Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society in Rockford, Illinois (www.profam.org).  To date, there have been four World Congresses of Families -- Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004) and Warsaw, Poland (2007).  The fifth World Congress of Families was held in Amsterdam, Netherlands, August 10-12, 2009 (www.worldcongress.nl and www.worldcongress.org).