The debate on life and gender ideology at the 2024 OAS Assembly

From June 26 to 28, the 54th Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) was held in Paraguay. This event brought together representatives from various countries and civil society organizations to discuss crucial issues, among which the issues of life and gender ideology stood out.

The digital platform Actívate, which represents more than 20 civil society organizations, attended this assembly and shared its conclusions with ACI Prensa.

The key role of civil society

Through a statement, Actívate indicated that in a “historic session” of the OAS General Assembly, the civil society of Mexico, El Salvador and Paraguay “firmly opposed the establishment of a progressive regime and against the assumptions ‘reproductive rights’”.

According to the platform, many participating countries faced pressure to adopt “an anti-life agenda,” which included allocating resources to the promotion of “abortion, the morning-after pill, and eliminating their classification from the penal code.”

Actívate also warned about the efforts of different countries to “recognize sex work,” warning that this could lead, in the future, to “child exploitation no longer being classified as a crime, but as work.”

In addition, the “generalized discrimination and censorship in Latin America against people and groups that defend fundamental rights such as life, family and freedoms, labeling us as ‘anti-rights’ and ‘conservative’, forcing us to remain silent or modify our speeches,” was denounced.

In another aspect, Mexico and its authorities were urged to listen to the call for attention coming from Venezuela, a country that, Actívate denounced, “implements mechanisms of repression and anti-democracy.”

Finally, the platform celebrated the appointment of new judges to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, especially highlighting the election of the Peruvian Alberto Borea and the Paraguayan Diego Moreno, “for not being promoters of abortion.”

“Paraguay is life, Paraguay is family and Paraguay is sovereign”

During the assembly, something that caught our attention was the participation of the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, Víctor Alfredo Verdún Bitar, for his position on issues such as abortion and gender ideology.

Verdún Bitar clarified that in Paraguay the National Constitution establishes “that the right to life is inherent to the human person, guaranteeing its protection in general, from conception.”

The Paraguayan authority advocated for “equality of rights between both sexes,” in line with the constitutional framework of its country, and referred to an interpretation of the term “gender” based on the biological sex of people, “recognizing only two categories : man and woman”.

He also highlighted the need to use “clear and precise terms, avoiding ambiguities in their interpretation and ensuring coherence with the legal system.”

Regarding equality and non-discrimination, Verdún Bitar stressed that, although “individual freedoms and the intrinsic dignity of each human being are the fundamental pillars of our fight against discrimination”, these positions “should in no case compromise the fundamental freedoms of the people”. He clarified that in the country, Paraguayans “reject any attempt to use the argument of hate speech to silence voices from some sectors.”

The Paraguayan deputy minister stressed that “none of the positions that Paraguay holds imply discrimination, hatred or any setback.” On the contrary, he said, “by constitutional principle, Paraguay defends non-discrimination, equality before the law and fundamental freedoms, including religious and ideological freedom, as well as freedom of expression and thought.”

Likewise, he encouraged all countries in the region to “build bridges that allow us to move forward, avoiding impositions that only deepen divisions and polarizations.” He ended his speech by stating: “And finally, I wish to state for the record so that there is no doubt that Paraguay is life, Paraguay is family and Paraguay is sovereign.”

They celebrate Paraguay’s position

Rodrigo Iván Cortés, president of the National Front for the Family of Mexico and vice president of the Political Network for Values, applauded “the strength, clarity and positivity” of the message that Verdún Bitar gave.

Through a video shared on social networks, the pro-family leader applauded that the government representative has made it clear “that the fundamental right is life and is also based on the Constitution itself.” Cortés appreciated that Paraguay has positioned itself against the use of the term “hate speech to cancel the voices of those who defend life, family and freedoms.”