An international coalition of diplomats, researchers, and thinkers gathered Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to address the “infusion of gender ideology” into domestic and foreign policy and international affairs.
Attendees traveled from Hungary, Mexico, Spain, Poland, Italy, Brazil, and Canada to discuss their concerns about radical gender ideology in their own countries, including the promotion of ideas antagonistic to traditional marriage, family, and sex, as well as the dangers that that ideology poses to women, children, and young adults.
Participants represented Italy’s Machiavelli Center for Political and Strategic Studies; Poland’s Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture; a Hungarian news outlet, Mandiner; a Canadian group, Women’s Rights Matter; as well as Alliance Defending Freedom and Alliance Defending Freedom International.
Following a public event hosted by The Heritage Foundation on “The Dangers of Gender Ideology at Home and Abroad,” members of the coalition gathered for a private meeting. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)
That meeting was led by Heritage’s senior counselor to its president, Jim Carafano; Jay Richards, director of its DeVos Center for Life, Religion, and Family; and Magor Ernyei, director of international relations at the Hungarian Center for Fundamental Rights, the organization that hosted CPAC Hungary.
The international attendees discussed a draft statement of principles on gender ideology that was obtained by The Daily Signal. It warns that gender ideology “has emerged as a deeply divisive issue around the world” that “contradicts scientific knowledge and is an affront to the anthropological and moral truths that are foundational to every civilization.”
“It has disrupted families and nations, violated the natural bonds between parents and their children, and extended its influence into the academy, private spaces, sports, medicine, courts, and everyday language,” the draft states. “Our commitment to the value and sanctity of both the family and individual liberties requires us to resist gender ideology … .”
The draft focuses on the protection of freedom of belief and expression, the importance of maintaining the legal distinction between “sex” and “gender identity,” opposition to the creation of new “rights” that are awarded on the basis of membership in particular groups (such as gender ideology), ethical medical practices, parental consent and confidentiality, and the protection of minors.
“We stand united in our commitment to reject gender ideology and related radical sexual ideologies that seek to redefine perennial moral principles and to blur well-understood biological realities,” the statement concludes. “This must continue to form the foundation of any stable defense of the rights and responsibilities of individuals, families, and nations.”
Austin Ruse, president of the Center for Family and Human Rights, warned those gathered around the table about the phrase “gender-based persecution” included in draft articles of a new treaty on crimes against humanity—which could endanger religious or tradition-minded individuals who seek to communicate openly about the human person, man, woman, marriage, family, and more.
A number of members of the international group stressed the importance of working with individuals, groups, or countries with whom members of the coalition might not be perfectly politically aligned, such as religious leaders, given that the dangers of gender ideology are so far-reaching and interwoven with almost every issue.
“We don’t care about your politics,” Carafano stressed. “This is about this issue.”
For its next steps, the coalition plans to refine its statement of principles, including a definition of gender ideology, and an emphasis on the nonpartisan nature of the effort.
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