UFI at the United Nations

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Since 1978 United Families International (UFI) has protected the family as the fundamental unit of society. As a non-denominational, non-partisan, non-profit organization, UFI is an internationally recognized pro-family voice. Through social science research, UFI works to strengthen the family by promoting the traditional family, marriage between a man and a woman, the sanctity of life, the right and obligation of parents to love, protect, provide for and teach their children, and the right of nations to determine their own laws and customs.

The chapter development program at UFI creates grass roots involvement by educating and advocating in behalf of family policy on national, state and local issues. Through this program UFI is building an army of unified voices in support of the traditional family.

UFI also participates at the United Nations in negotiations to produce key outcome documents that set family policies throughout the world. UFI representatives make several trips to the UN each year. In fact, from March 2nd through March 13th of this year UFI will be at the UN to protect families from the liberal agenda in the 2009 Commission on the Status of Women.

On 21 June 1946, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was established as a full-fledged United Nations Commission dedicated to ensuring women’s equality and to promoting women’s rights. Its mandate was to “prepare recommendations and reports to the Economic and Social Council on promoting women's rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields” and to make recommendations “on urgent problems requiring immediate attention in the field of women’s rights.”

UFI began attending CSW to monitor the documents that were being produced and adopted by this Commission and offer support to delegates and missions that shared our views. Over the years UFI has played an increasingly important role as a strong voice in favor of the family as the fundamental unit of society. At this time, UFI is part of a coalition that lobbies on behalf of the pro-family position. The UFI team will travel to CSW equipped with resources that can help bolster the position of like-minded individuals engaged in negotiations. The resources, information and moral support offered to the pro-family negotiators is incredibly helpful and gives them the strength they need to stand against the rising tide of anti-family sentiment at CSW.

UFI is dedicated to informing and educating on key issues affecting the family. UFI publishes its Family Issues Guides, which are peer-reviewed scientific research, expert commentary and sound logical arguments pertaining to several topics including: the benefits of traditional marriage, the harms of pornography, the consequences of divorce, sexual orientation, abortion, and the differences between cohabitation and marriage. UFI compiles the publications after reviewing a vast number of social science studies, books, and other sources that cover the topics of each Family Issue Guide. The publications are used by several pro-family organizations and other non-governmental organizations to educate lawmakers and government officials on the various issues.

UFI has been a part of several pro-family victories at the UN. UFI’s Negotiating Guide is used by pro-family NGOs around the world as the leading resource for UN family language needed for negotiations.

The organization uncovered and exposed UNICEF's agenda to provide to children explicit sexual education materials promoting sexual behaviors too perverse to mention. UFI then presented these materials, along with proof that UNICEF was promoting abortion, to U.N. delegates in the heat of negotiations at the U.N. World Summit on Children. This helped overturn the abortion language in the outcome document.

UFI was also an instrumental in stopping the U.S. funding of $34 million to the U.N. Fund for Population activities (UNFPA), which supports forced abortion and sterilizations in China. UFI’s memorandum was instrumental in helping to defeat the funding proposal for UNFPA on the floor of the US Senate.