Ordo Iuris Opinion for the UN: The Family as the Foundation of Sustainable States

The Ordo Iuris Institute, which holds special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), submitted a written statement to the 59th session of the Commission on Population and Development, which will take place April 13–17, 2026. Next year’s main theme is: “Population, technology and research in the context of sustainable development”. In accordance with UN procedure, only the first twenty statements submitted by December 1, 2025, will be published as official documents of the session.

In its submitted position, Ordo Iuris recalls that all obligations and recommendations concerning the implementation of the International Conference on Population and Development’s Programme of Action (International Conference on Population and Development) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development must respect the primacy of the right to life, the universally recognized status of the family as the basic unit of society, and the primary responsibility of states for the protection of human rights in accordance with their constitutional identity, cultural context, and the moral sensibilities of societies. These principles—as the Ordo Iuris Institute points out—should serve as a point of reference for every technological or research process pertaining to demography.

In the document, Ordo Iuris emphasizes that the principle of the equal dignity of all people, enshrined in ICPD Principle 1, must be interpreted according to its plain meaning—as a commitment to protect the life and inviolable dignity of every person from conception to natural death. Ordo Iuris also warns of the risk of using population technologies or medical innovations in a way that could undermine this fundamental principle.

With regard to Principle 4 of the ICPD program, the Institute recalls that the term “gender” has, in international law, a meaning referring to the two sexes, female and male, as clearly defined by Article 7(3) of the Rome Statute. The statement noted that the incorrect or overly broad use of this term leads to real dangers, exemplified by known cases of placing biological men who identify as women in women’s prisons, resulting in sexual violence — as in the United Kingdom case of Adam Graham (2023), who identifies as a woman — Isla Bryson.

The statement also noted that—consistent with ICPD Principle 7—support for developing countries cannot be conditioned on the adoption of policies promoting abortion or contraception. These are morally sensitive issues that remain the exclusive domain of national law.

Ordo Iuris also underscores the importance of ICPD Principle 9, recalling that the family—in its natural form—is the fundamental cornerstone of social and demographic development. The need to promote a positive vision of the family and to counter narratives that portray it as a threat to women’s autonomy is put forward. The statement also emphasizes that demographic technologies and data-driven research must strengthen families rather than weaken them.

In the context of Principle 10 of the ICPD program, the Ordo Iuris Institute draws attention to numerous violations of parents’ rights, documented in some Western European countries, including cases from 2016 in the Netherlands, where children were forced to participate in Muslim religious practices, or introducing in 2023 in German preschools with so-called sexual exploration rooms, leading to illegal and unethical actions, without parents’ knowledge.

The statement also noted that any references to abortion in the ICPD Programme of Action, the Beijing Platform for Action, and the 2030 Agenda must be interpreted in light of universally recognized human rights treaties, which do not provide for a right to abortion but explicitly protect the right to life. Among other things, it was recalled that the preamble to the Convention on the Rights of the Child speaks of the need to protect the child “before as well as after birth”. The Ordo Iuris Institute’s statement also emphasizes that — in accordance with the ICPD — abortion cannot be treated as a method of family planning, and that states are obliged to take measures to reduce its incidence and to support women in difficult circumstances.

“The topic of the Commission’s upcoming session requires particular attention due to the rapid pace of development of new technologies in the field of population and so-called reproductive health. In this context, it is essential to keep reminding people of the fundamental principles of international law: the protection of life, the inviolability of the family, and respect for the constitutional sovereignty of states.” “It is necessary to ensure that technological innovations do not become a means of violating parents’ rights, circumventing democratic processes, or pressuring states to legalize abortion,” notes Julia Książek, a lawyer working for Ordo Iuris’ Center for International Law.