AUCCRO calls on Ukraine's government and Parliament to create a central executive authority to support family, children, maternity and parenthood
On the initiative of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations, the All-Ukrainian Telethon "Ukraine for the Family" was held on June 7.
Participants of the marathon published a Resolution.
In the document, the heads of Churches and religious organizations pointed out the need to form a state family policy, given the catastrophic demographic situation in Ukraine, a large percentage of divorces and children raised in single-parent families.
They drew the attention of the authorities to the problem of domestic violence, which had increased under the quarantine imposed in Ukraine. The AUCCRO calls on the Government and Parliament to develop national legislation on countering domestic abuse and violence against women.
Spiritual leaders also touched on the issue of gender.
"Gender ideology should not be included in the legislation of Ukraine: neither in the educational process nor in the criminal code. Gender ideology is detrimental to any society," noted the members of the AUCCRO.
The document also states that commercial surrogacy, which is prohibited in many European countries but has become a business of child trafficking in Ukraine for many years, is unacceptable.
The situation with mass abortions in Ukraine is considered critical by members of the AUCCRO, which is due to the lack of proper educational campaigns among young people and social assistance to families and women in need.
"The Ukrainian state and civil society should develop a strategy to reduce the practice of artificial termination of pregnancy to help preserve the life of every child born by providing timely assistance to the parents of the conceived child in solving their material, psychological and other problems," the leaders of the Churches urge.
They stressed the need to create a Central Executive authority in Ukraine to support families, children, motherhood and fatherhood.
In particular, according to the members of AUCCRO, it is important to establish continuous interaction between the Parliament and the Government with the religious community on the formation and implementation of state family policy.
RESOLUTION
issued by the participants of the telethon "Ukraine for Family", held on June 7, 2020
at the initiative of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations
We, participants of the telethon "Ukraine for the Family", being aware of our responsibility to God and future generations, caring for the establishment of family values, the protection of children and youth, striving for the development of Ukrainian society based on high moral and spiritual values, declare the following:
1. It is urgent to form a state family policy, given the disastrous demographic situation in Ukraine, a large percentage of divorces and children raised in single-parent families. It is necessary to direct significant efforts of the state and civil society to support families, motherhood and fatherhood, to introduce programs in the educational process to prepare for family life, to create appropriate social and other conditions to minimize abortions, to eliminate the system of keeping and raising children in residential institutions, and to promote adoption among Ukrainian citizens.
2. Today, it is particularly important to combine the efforts of the authorities, the secular and religious communities in solving the problem of domestic violence, which has increased under the conditions of the quarantine imposed in Ukraine. However, instead of ratifying the so-called Istanbul Convention, which is biased due to gender ideology, the All-Ukraine Council of Churches and Religious Organizations consistently calls on the Government and Parliament to develop national legislation in Ukraine to counter domestic violence and violence against women. That is, to follow the path of those European countries that also refused to ratify this Convention.
3. Gender ideology should not be included in the legislation of Ukraine: neither in the educational process nor in the criminal code. Gender ideology is detrimental for any society since it replaces the concept of biological sex with several dozen genders based on the principle of self-identification. In particular, the parent community is concerned about the anti-discrimination examination of textbooks and educational materials, introduced by order of the Ministry of Education of Ukraine. After all, this examination is discredited by its performers because of numerous examples of ideological bias in the principles of its conduct.
4. Recently, the problem of commercial surrogacy, which is prohibited in many European countries, has become a particular public concern. Still, for many years it has become a business of child trafficking in Ukraine. Commercialized surrogacy denigrates the dignity of a child to the level of a commodity. Also, it destroys the dignity of a woman through neglecting motherhood and selfless love for the child, which is replaced by the requirement to adhere to strict terms of the contract.
5. The provision of paragraph 10 Article 78 of the Law of Ukraine "On Education", which provides for the introduction of the principle "money follows the child" in education for private educational institutions, including the religious educational institutions, still does not work in practice. The residual approach to funding private educational institutions makes it too expensive to study in them, harms the development of pluralism of education and the right to make educational choices.
6. The situation with mass abortions in Ukraine is critical, due to the lack of proper educational campaigns among young people and social assistance to families and women in need. The Ukrainian state and civil society should develop a strategy to reduce the practice of artificial termination of pregnancy to help preserve the life of every child born by providing timely assistance to the parents of the conceived child in solving their material, psychological and other issues.
7. All these challenges and tasks in the field of family policy require the creation of a central executive authority in Ukraine to support family, children, maternity and parenthood. The significant deterioration of demographic indicators over the past nine years confirms that the state family policy requires proper institutionalization, budget funding and a systematic approach. In particular, it is essential to establish constant interaction of the Parliament and the Government with the religious community on the formation and implementation of the state family policy.
