Written declaration No. 545 | Doc. 13259 | 11 October 2013

The right to the family as the fundamental unit of society

Signatories: Mr Luca VOLONTÈ, Italy ; Mr Tamerlan AGUZAROV, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Miloš ALIGRUDIĆ, Serbia, EDG ; Ms Rossana BOLDI, Italy ; Mr Federico BRICOLO, Italy ; Baroness Peta BUSCOMBE, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr James CLAPPISON, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr David DAVIES, United Kingdom, EDG ; Ms Aleksandra DJUROVIĆ, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Baroness Margaret EATON, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr Axel FISCHER, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Terence FLANAGAN, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Mr Erich Georg FRITZ, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Martin FRONC, Slovak Republic, EPP/CD ; Mr Tamás GAUDI NAGY, Hungary, NR ; Ms Nadezda GERASIMOVA, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Paolo GRIMOLDI, Italy ; Mr Attila GRUBER, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Gergely GULYÁS, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Davit HARUTYUNYAN, Armenia, EDG ; Mr Joachim HÖRSTER, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Kastriot ISLAMI, Albania ; Mr Ferenc KALMÁR, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Ms Nermina KAPETANOVIĆ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, EPP/CD ; Ms Olga KAZAKOVA, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Attila KORODI, Romania, EPP/CD ; Mr László KOSZORÚS, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Sir Edward LEIGH, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr Ian LIDDELL-GRAINGER, United Kingdom, EDG ; Mr Anvar MAKHMUTOV, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr João Bosco MOTA AMARAL, Portugal, EPP/CD ; Mr Gábor Tamás NAGY, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Brynjar NÍELSSON, Iceland, EDG ; Mr Aleksandar NIKOLOSKI, ''The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'', EPP/CD ; Ms Zaruhi POSTANJYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Gabino PUCHE, Spain, EPP/CD ; Ms Katarina RAKIĆ, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Robert SHLEGEL, Russian Federation, EDG ; Mr Serhiy SOBOLEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Aleksandar SPASENOVSKI, ''The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'', EPP/CD ; Mr Giacomo STUCCHI, Italy ; Mr Latchezar TOSHEV, Bulgaria ; Mr Imre VEJKEY, Hungary, EPP/CD

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

Considering that the family, based on marriage between one man and one woman is the natural and fundamental unit of society entitled to protection by society and the State, the undersigned, members of the Parliamentary Assembly:

- call for renewed efforts to promote the family as an essential and vital contributor to the common good of the societies;

- recognize that the family is a community of love, life and solidarity, which is uniquely suited by its nature to give birth, raise children and to protect and care for its most vulnerable members;

- endorse and support international human rights law which oblige States to promote and protect the rights of the natural family;

- reaffirm and promote the legal principles that have been acknowledged as forming the basis of international human rights and the family;

- ensure that national governments properly implement and enforce domestic law giving full effect to the rights of the family;

- reaffirm the inherent dignity of the human person and seek to secure a healthy future for the children, with special attention to those who have been irreparably damaged by the lack of respect for the rights of the family.