Vatican 'foreign minister' prods UN body on human rights (Holy See Mission)

Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, urged the UN Human Rights Council to “respond holistically and constructively to humanity’s need for tangible signs of hope” amid “the tragedy of numerous conflicts, global crises, and ongoing violations of human rights.”

Archbishop Gallagher called for

· the protection of life “at every moment, from conception to natural death”
· the “universal abolition of the death penalty”
· “renewed appreciation of the gift of life, motherhood, and of the family” amid the demographic crisis
· respect for the human rights of the 125 million people who have been forcibly displaced
· debt forgiveness
· efforts to combat the persecution of Christians and other believers
· the cessation of efforts to reinterpret human rights treaties “in order to advance divisive ideologies that trample on the values and beliefs of peoples”