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Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Paraguay Won’t Be 8th Country to Ratify Latin American Pro-Gay Youth Manifesto

By Kilian Melloy -
 
Paraguay has rejected a set of standards for the treatment and rights of youth, due to provisions that the social and religious right found objectionable.

Anti-gay website LifeSiteNews.com zeroed in on several of the document’s guarantees that conservatives found unacceptable, including the right of all young people to assert their own identities, including sexual orientation; the right to be free of discrimination; and the right pursue social connections, including having a life partner and entering into marriage. LifeSiteNews.com said that the document’s provisions would have made the age of consent younger, because the guarantees espoused by the document apply to individuals who are 15-24 years of age.

The site also noted that under the provisions of the document, youths have the right to decide their own religious affiliation, if any; to receive education, including fact-based sexual health information; and to partake in the political process..

The 13-page document lays out its terms and aims clearly, acknowledging the "importance of the family and the duties and responsibilities of parents," along with asserting that youths have a "Right to Peace" and to "Gender Equality." The articles of the Convention specify that youths have a "Right to Life," a "Right to Personal Integrity, and a "Right to Protection Against Sexual Abuse." The Convention also asserts that youths have a right to conscientious objection in the face of mandatory military service, and a "Right to Justice," which includes "equal rights before law and all the guarantees of the corresponding procedure."

The document, known as the Iberoamerican Convention on the Rights of Youth, is the work of the Iberoamerican Youth Organization. Seven nations have ratified the Convention, including Bolivia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Spain, and Uruguay. An additional 10 nations have become signatories to the Convention, but have not officially ratified it.

Homosexuality is not criminal in Paraguay, but neither are gay and lesbian families granted equal access to protections and benefits accorded heterosexual couples. LifeSiteNews.com claimed that the government rejected the Convention following objections from the Federation of Associations for Life and Family.

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