This archive report was first published on 27 October 2019.
ICPD Forum Sparks Controversy Among Religious Leaders ¶
Published on October 27, 2019, a recent meeting called to brief religious leaders on the agenda of the upcoming International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD+25) in Nairobi turned acrimonious.
The faith community was deeply sceptical about the real purpose of the conference, viewing it as a facade for entrenching unacceptable practices into national and international laws.
According to a tweet by the Denmark Embassy in Kenya and Somalia, a key sponsor of the conference, the summit aimed to discuss women empowerment, sexual and reproductive health, and rights, including access to family planning and sex education, LGBTQI rights, and women's and girls' rights.
Religious leaders expressed concerns that the conference was part of a final ditch effort by international pro-abortion groups to fine-tune their agenda and force it on governments, especially in Africa.
The ICPD+25 is set to issue 12 commitments that government representatives at the conference will be expected to sign, including controversial subjects such as universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and the legalisation of abortion, prostitution, same-sex marriage, and Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) for youth.
The faith community had been largely locked out of the conference, with several church delegates unable to register. The organisers came to the meeting with a draft statement that was to be signed by the faith community and issued at a press statement endorsing the conference, but the clergy refused to sign the document or participate in a press release.
Church leaders have opted to organise a side event to address the same concerns the summit delegates will be discussing, urging the government not to endorse the commitments and instead to issue a declaration that promotes life rather than death.
