The final declaration of the Doha International Conference for the Family was delivered to the United Nations General Assembly for the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family. Many countries opposed the declaration because of its references to the importance of protecting life, but even more so because it did not refer to "various forms of the family" to recognize homosexual relationships.

On Friday, December 3, 2004, the pro-family movement circulated SOSs around the world, calling on NGOs, parliamentarians, and individuals to lobby governments and send e-mails to UN missions. Lobby they did, with missions receiving as many as 80,000 e-mails.

The General Assembly celebrated the anniversary of the International Year of the Family on Monday, December 6, 2004, with the passing of General Assembly Resolution 59/111, which, among other things,

1. Commends the important contributions made by governments on international, national, regional and local levels to observe the tenth anniversary of the International Year of the Family;

2. Welcomes the hosting of the Regional Conference on the Family in Africa from 27 to 28 July 2004 by the Government of Benin and also welcomes the hosting of the Doha International Conference for the Family from 29 to 30 November 2004 by the State of Qatar and takes note of their outcomes;

Afterwards, several countries—the Netherlands (on behalf of the European Union), Norway, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—made speeches to disassociate themselves from the resolution and the Doha Declaration.

Many within the pro-family movement welcome this resolution. One activist told IOL in a phone conversation that it was “significant” that the resolution passed by consensus, that is, without being voted on.

One press release called it a “historic day” when the resolution was passed. Another said “the Doha Declaration is an important document that if recognized would be a huge victory, giving us a vital tool to defeat anti-family UN provisions in the future.”

Another activist wrote to IOL that the General Assembly had “noted” the Doha Declaration and that this made it “a formal UN document.”

But not everyone in the pro-family movement is happy. Dr. Farooq Hassan, the World Family Alliance Ambassador for Family to the United Nations, had earlier expressed his concern that the declaration would not be accepted by the European Union and others. He asserts that the mere noting of the Doha Declaration does not carry enough weight for it to be a reference in subsequent UN negotiations. In a Live Dialogue with IOL he said, “If by a UN document it is meant that it has achieved a ‘binding’ effect to what has been ‘noted’ as such, I am afraid, as a lawyer, I cannot say so. … To be technically binding on sovereign member countries, such ‘binding’ effect is only applicable to obligations expressly assumed by formal acts of the countries.”

He further said that he was not disappointed in the outcome because he had expected it and that the pro-family movement must keep striving.

Was the conference then a failure? It did not address the legal aspects of family issues in international law, and the final declaration was not adopted or approved by the UN General Assembly.

While I cannot celebrate a victory, I do not see it as a total defeat. Certainly many in the pro-family movement find hope in the outcome.

But we must not become complacent. There is still a long uphill battle. Early next year we have the Beijing +10 conference and yet another attempt by the UN High Commission of Human Rights to recognize homosexual rights as human rights. The feminists and pro-gay movements have been working hard to prepare for these meetings.

We Muslims must remember that at the international level, the weight of the pro-family movement has been carried by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). But obviously we need to lobby other governments as well, to convince them that supporting the family is good for their societies.

At the national and local levels, we Muslims—whether in Muslim majority countries or as minorities elsewhere—need to lobby our governments and work with NGOs to help the family in whatever way is needed.

And a lot is needed, for though Islam has a lot to say about the rights and obligations of the various members of the family, we often do not live up to the standards set by our religion. We need to educate men and women, boys and girls in every way—not only in the “three Rs” and other school subjects, but also in their religion and in how to deal with practical problems as Muslims.

The needs vary from place to place, but some suggestions would be faith-based classes on better communication skills between husbands and wives; on how to deal with anger without becoming violent; on how to raise children. Perhaps men need training to get better jobs; perhaps women need training in nutrition or household management or in balancing family and outside job. There is much, much more that can be done.

Finally, I cannot help but note with sadness that within the United States, generally the right wing that is pro-family is also pro-war. I do not say that the individuals or organizations I met in Doha fall into that category. Actually, I do not know, as so far our talks have been limited to the issues on which we agree to work together. But I hope that through cooperation on pro-family issues we can learn to understand each other as individuals and also as peoples—whether classed as religions or nationalities—and that over time we might strive together for justice in other arenas.

* Ælfwine Mischler is an editor at IslamOnline.net. She represented the International Islamic Committee for Woman and Child at the Third Preparatory Session for the UN Children’s Summit in June 2001, and has been interested in women’s and children’s issues at the United Nations ever since. You can contact her at family_under_attack@islam-online.net.