Written declaration No. 535 | Doc. 13112 | 21 May 2013

The right to the family as the traditional and fundamental unit of society

Signatories: Mr Luca VOLONTÈ, Italy, EPP/CD ; Mr Pedro AGRAMUNT, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Volodymyr ARIEV, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Mr Márton BRAUN, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Ms Ismeta DERVOZ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, EPP/CD ; Ms Aleksandra DJUROVIĆ, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Karl DONABAUER, Austria, EPP/CD ; Mr Mikuláš DZURINDA, Slovak Republic, EPP/CD ; Mr Terence FLANAGAN, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Mr Bernard FOURNIER, France, EPP/CD ; Mr Hans FRANKEN, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Mr Erich Georg FRITZ, Germany, EPP/CD ; Ms Corina FUSU, Republic of Moldova, ALDE ; Mr Valeriu GHILETCHI, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD ; Mr Andres HERKEL, Estonia, EPP/CD ; Mr Péter HOPPÁL, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Joachim HÖRSTER, Germany, EPP/CD ; Ms Arpine HOVHANNISYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Mr Ferenc KALMÁR, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Ms Naira KARAPETYAN, Armenia, EPP/CD ; Ms Elvira KOVÁCS, Serbia, EPP/CD ; Mr Václav KUBATA, Czech Republic, EPP/CD ; Mr Jacques LEGENDRE, France, EPP/CD ; Mr József NAGY, Slovak Republic, EPP/CD ; Mr Gebhard NEGELE, Liechtenstein ; Mr Fritz NEUGEBAUER, Austria, EPP/CD ; Ms Lesia OROBETS, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Liliana PALIHOVICI, Republic of Moldova, EPP/CD ; Mr Ángel PINTADO, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr Kimmo SASI, Finland, EPP/CD ; Mr Leander SCHÄDLER, Liechtenstein ; Ms Elisabeth SCHNEIDER-SCHNEITER, Switzerland, EPP/CD ; Mr Samad SEYIDOV, Azerbaijan, EDG ; Ms Lorella STEFANELLI, San Marino, EPP/CD ; Mr Imre VEJKEY, Hungary, EPP/CD ; Mr Stefaan VERCAMER, Belgium

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.