Jump to page content

Explanation of Position of the Holy See at the adoption of resolutions under Item 3 of the 62nd Regular Session of the Human Rights Council

  • 08.07.2026
    • Human Rights Council
Scroll to page content

Explanation of Position of the Holy See at the adoption of resolutions under Item 3 of the 62nd Regular Session of the Human Rights Council

Geneva, 08 July 2026

 

Mr. President,

The Holy See wishes to express its reservations regarding some of the concepts and terms contained in a number of the resolutions adopted at this Sixty-second Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, including, inter alia, gender as opposed to sex; sexual and reproductive health services; “health services” in place of “health-care services”; sexual and reproductive health and rights; bodily autonomy, including for girls; contraception; family planning; comprehensive sexuality education; intersectionality; the lack of proper regard for parental rights; and other controversial terms that do not enjoy consensus.

The Holy See reiterates its longstanding and well-known positions on such language or concepts. In particular, the Holy See reaffirms its reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and to the outcome documents of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. In addition, the Holy See would like to comment on the following:

1.     Regarding the terms “sexual and reproductive health services”, “reproductive rights” and “right to sexual and reproductive health”, the Holy See considers these terms as applying to a holistic concept of health. We do not consider abortion or access to abortion or abortifacients as a dimension of these terms. We do not recognize the creation of any new rights or the promotion of radical individual autonomy in this regard, as fully laid out in our reservations registered at both the Cairo and Beijing conferences.

2.     With reference to “gender”, the Holy See understands the term to be grounded in the biological sexual identity and difference that is male or female. Regarding the concept of “gender norms”, the Holy See does not recognize the idea that gender is socially constructed; rather, gender recognizes the objective identity of the human person as born male or female.

3.     With reference to the terms “contraception”, “family planning”, “sexual and reproductive health”, “sexual and reproductive rights”, “reproductive rights”, and any other terms regarding family-planning services and regulation of fertility concepts in these resolutions, the Holy See reaffirms its well-known position concerning those family-planning methods which the Catholic Church considers morally acceptable and, on the other hand, family-planning services which do not respect the liberty of the spouses, human dignity and the human rights of those concerned.

4.     With respect to “education” or “information” or “evidence-based information and education” on “sexuality” or “sexual and reproductive health” or “comprehensive sexuality education”, the Holy See reiterates the “primary responsibility” and the “prior rights” of parents, including their right to religious freedom, when it comes to the education and upbringing of their children, as enshrined, inter alia, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This “primary right” finds its most concrete expression in the most grave duty of parents to take responsibility for the well-rounded personal and social education of their children, including their sexual and affective education, within the broader framework of an education for love, for mutual self-giving and respectful of values that are rooted in human nature. In addition, the Holy See wishes to underline the centrality of the family, “the natural and fundamental group unit of society”, as well as the role and the rights and duties of parents to educate their children.

The Holy See would kindly request that these reservations be recorded in relation to all resolutions in which these concepts or language appear.

With regard to non-binding instruments, including these adopted resolutions, the Holy See places emphasis on the crucial distinction between treaties, which have been formally negotiated and adopted by States with the intention of creating legal obligations, and other international documents which do not possess the same authority.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Back to all statements