The Times reported on October 13 that the European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize for promoting peace, democracy and human rights over six decades.
There are indications that the US may win the prize before the EU does- Tony Mifsud
“The EU had largely brought peace to a continent which tore itself apart in two world wars in which tens of millions died,” it reported.
A bureau meeting of the European People’s Party – EPP – will take place in Malta this month.
Last August, the EPP expressed its convictions on its website by enlisting its 10 priorities in the EU. For a Europe of values, for upholding strong values now more than ever, the EPP Group said it wished that the EU: protects human dignity; provides a decent standard of living for all; protects human life, without avoiding the debate on bioethics; fights discrimination and violence; protects marriage; supports the family as the primary place of socialisation and personal development; and promotes true equality between men and women.
On July 7, 2011 in a written statement on Natural Human Rights, a restricted group of EPP members from Italy, Hungary, Austria, Greece and Lithuania declared in the Council of Europe:
“A new human life begins at conception and evolves until death. From conception, each unborn child is by nature a human being, entitled to recognition of his inherent dignity and to protection of his inalienable human rights. These principles are recognised in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international instruments. States may and should invoke treaty provisions guaranteeing the rights to life as encompassing a state responsibility to protect the unborn child from abortion.”
“The international law does not recognise any right to abortion. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and other treaty monitoring bodies have directed governments to change their laws on abortion. These bodies have no authority to interpret these treaties in ways that create new state obligations or that alter the substance of the treaties.
“Since there is no international legal obligation to provide access to abortion on any ground, assertions by international agencies or non-governmental actors that abortion is a human right are false and should be rejected.
“Governments and members of society should guarantee that national laws and policies protect the right to life from conception, rejecting and condemning pressure to adopt laws that legalise or de-penalise abortion.”
The EU recently won the Peace Prize. Will the EU win the pro-life prize? Will it turn from a continent of death, in which tens of millions of unborn children are being killed or maimed, not once in a big war, but every year in “peace” time to a continent of life. Will it do so before the US?
Considering what Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney said prior to the presidential election, there are indications that the US may win the prize before the EU does. This may happen unless the EPP, the largest group in the EU Parliament with 270 members, and consistent with its declared convictions as quoted above, redoubles its efforts, perhaps with other groups in time to do just that.
Last August, EPP chairman Joseph Daul, said on his website: “I want to hear what you have to say – so join the conversation and become part of Europe’s driving force”.
The Malta Unborn Child Movement, which has been working for the rights, protection and development of the unborn child in Malta and elsewhere for many years takes up the EPP chairman’s invitation and request to meet the EPP bureau in Malta on quality of life for the unborn child in the EU.
Last month, MUCM held a national conference on quality life for the unborn child with the = Ministry of Justice, Public Dialogue and the Family.
MUCM has also written to the EU Justice and Health Commissioners, and also met the (former) EU Health Commissioner in Malta on these matters.
MUCM requests the PN, an organisation in MUCM like the Labour Party, and in particular MEPs Simon Busuttil and David Casa to pass on our request to the EEP bureau.
In the meantime, MUCM continues to wait for a favourable response to its requests to meet the Labour Party and the other four Maltese MEPs in the European Parliament on these matters. After all, the very big majority of the Maltese people are pro-life, aren’t they?
The author is coordinator of the Malta Unborn Child Movement.