Holy See's Statement on UN's AIDS Declaration

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"What Is Needed Is a Value-Based Approach to Counter the Disease"

NEW YORK, JUNE 14, 2011 (Zenit.org).-
Here is the "Statement of Interpretation" provided last Friday by the
Holy Mission to the United Nations on the adoption of the Political
Declaration in HIV and AIDs, which it asked to be included in the report
of the high-level plenary of the General Assembly.



* * *




Mr. President,




On the adoption of the declaration, the Holy See offers the following
statement of interpretation. I would ask that the text of this
statement, which explains the official position of the Holy See, kindly
be included in the report of this high-level plenary of the General
Assembly.

In providing more than one fourth
of all care for those who are suffering from HIV and AIDS, Catholic
healthcare institutions know well the importance of access to treatment,
care and support for the millions of people living with and affected by
HIV and AIDS.

The position of the Holy See on the expressions "sexual and
reproductive health" and "services," the ILO Recommendation No 200, and
the Secretary-General's Global Strategy on Women and Children's Health
is to be interpreted in terms of its reservations in the Report of the
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) of 1994.
The position of the Holy See on the word "gender" and its various uses
is to be interpreted in terms of its reservations in the Report of the
Fourth World Conference on Women.




The Holy See understands that, when referring to "young people," the
definition of which enjoying no international consensus, States must
always respect the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents to
provide appropriate direction and guidance to their children, which
includes having primary responsibility for the upbringing, development,
and education of their children (cf., Convention on the Rights of the
Child, Articles 5, 18, and 27,2). States must acknowledge that the
family, based on marriage being the equal partnership between one man
and one woman and the natural and fundamental group unit of society, is
indispensible in the fight against HIV and AIDS, for the family is where
children learn moral values to help them live in a responsible manner
and where the greater part of care and support is provided (cf.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16,3).




The Holy See rejects references to terms such as "populations at high
risk" because they treat persons as objects and can give the false
impression that certain types of irresponsible behavior are somehow
morally acceptable. The Holy See does not endorse the use of
condoms/commodities including as part of HIV and AIDS prevention
programs or classes/programs of education in sex/sexuality. Prevention
programs or classes/programs of education in human sexuality should
focus not on trying to convince the world that risky and dangerous
behavior forms part of an acceptable lifestyle, but rather should focus
on risk avoidance, which is ethically and empirically sound. The only
safe and completely reliable method of preventing the sexual
transmission of HIV is abstinence before marriage and respect and mutual
fidelity within marriage, which is and must always be the foundation of
any discussion of prevention and support.




The Holy See does not accept so-called "harm reduction" efforts
related to drug use. Such efforts do not respect the dignity of those
who are suffering from drug addiction as they do not treat or cure the
sick person, but instead falsely suggest that they cannot break free
from the cycle of addiction. Such persons must be provided the necessary
spiritual, psychological and familial support to break free from the
addictive behavior in order to restore their dignity and encourage
social inclusion.




The Holy See rejects the characterization of persons who engage in
prostitution as "sex workers" as this can give the false impression that
prostitution could somehow be a legitimate form of work. Prostitution
cannot be separated from the issue of the status and dignity of persons;
governments and society must not accept such a dehumanization and
objectification of persons.




What is needed is a value-based approach to counter the disease of
HIV and AIDS, an approach which provides the necessary care and moral
support for those infected and which promotes living in conformity with
the norms of the natural moral order, an approach which respects fully
the inherent dignity of the human person.




Thank you, Mr. President.