Recently the United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released an official Position Paper on “sexual orientation and gender identity” where it officially endorses legal recognition of same-sex couples, urges the repeal of laws that restrict promoting homosexuality among children, and promotes “changes in social norms” regarding homosexual behavior – and all these in order to “protect” children’s rights and best interests. This is great and explicit abuse of the resources and status of this international organization. Please sign our petition to stop them!

The new official Position Paper by UNICEF is called “Eliminating discrimination against children and parents based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity”.  

The paper says that in its work, “UNICEF is guided by the Convention on the Rights of the Child and strives to establish children’s rights as enduring ethical principles and international standards of behaviour towards children.”

But the content of the paper clearly opposes these goals, proposing a position that has no real ground in international treaties, and is far removed from any ethical principles and established international standards. More than that, UNICEF’s actions lead to the substantial violation of the rights and real interests of children!

On page 3, the paper introduces the definitions of “Sexual orientation,” “Gender identity” and “LGBT.” These notions are not defined or even present in global human rights and children’s rights treaties. Many countries – UN member states – have clearly rejected the attempt to use these terms in the international legal field. There’s nothing in the UNICEF official mandate, entrusted to it by the UN, that could give UNICEF any power to introduce these new terms into its global practice, or to define and promote them. 

On page 4, UNICEF proclaims that it’s necessary to repeal laws restricting promotion of homosexuality among children. This is a clear attack on the Russian law on protecting health and moral of children, and similar initiatives that are under consideration in other countries. Does this presuppose that there’s a special right to promote homosexuality and other immoral sexual practices among children, endangering their innocence and development? Or does UNICEF think that children have a special right to be the objects of such promotion?

But the document goes much further! It officially endorses and supports the legal recognition of the same-sex couples. It states: “UNICEF supports the enactment of laws which provide LGBT couples and their children with the legal recognition of their family ties.” 

Throughout the paper, UNICEF uses the expression “LGBT parents” – and it’s clear now that it does refer to same-sex couples “parenting.”

It’s clear that there’s no ground in international law for legal recognition of the same-sex couples and especially for entrusting to them children to be “parented.” In fact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly say that not “everyone” but only “men and women” (even more clear in the original French text where there’s “man” and “woman” in singular!) “have the right to marry and to found a family.” 

This family, based on marriage between a man and a woman, is called “the natural and fundamental group unit of society.” It’s this family that is recognized even by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as “the natural environment for the growth and well-being of all its members and particularly children.”

Children have a right to a mother and a father, and not to a same-sex couple “parenting” him. This right is clearly violated by recognizing same-sex couples and conferring upon them the “right” to become “parents.” 

Promoting same-sex couples doesn’t have any grounding in international law and clearly contradicts the real rights and the best interests of children. UNICEF doesn’t protect children’s rights here – it promotes violation of children’s rights. 

UNICEF describes its mandate “to advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential.” This mandate is clearly overstepped by the new position paper.

UNICEF should care about providing suffering children with nutrition, medical care and basic education, not with promoting same-sex “parents”. 

UNICEF is not an independently funded NGO. It’s an official UN agency funded mostly by UN member states – that is, by people’s money… our money. 

More than 60% of UNICEF’s 2013 revenue came from governments, that is, from taxpayers. According to its annual report UNICEF received:

• European Commission $431,365,000
• U.S. $325,355,000
• U.K. $555,387,000

Another source of its funding is independent donations and charity products, like UNICEF Christmas products. 

Do you wish promote same-sex “parenting” with your own money? We don’t! Not with our money! We ask you to join our campaign to stop this abuse of international power. 

By signing this petition you:

1. Address UNICEF asking them to stop abusing their international power and to revoke their position paper contradicting the rights and interests of children
2. Address the governments of UN member states, asking them to demand to revocation of UNICEF’s position and to halt any financial support of UNICEF until it is revoked
3. Pledge not to donate to UNICEF and not to buy their Christmas products until they revoke this abusive position paper.

We must stop this abuse of international resources. Children need their fathers and mothers whenever possible, not interchangeable same-sex “parents.”