UPF Joins Pro-Family NGO Coalition at United Nations
New York, United States – The Geneva Consensus Declaration on Women’s Health and Protection of the Family (GCD) was launched in 2020 under U.S. leadership, with five co-sponsoring nations. The Geneva Consensus Declaration Coalition (GCDC) brings together nations and nongovernmental organizations committed to advancing women’s health, protecting the family, affirming the dignity of every human life, and upholding each country’s sovereign right to establish its own family-related laws and policies.
On September 23, 2026, the GCDC convened a program at the One UN Millennium Hotel, across from the United Nations, during the UN General Assembly. Universal Peace Federation participated as a recently accepted member. The coalition has now grown to include 46 countries and nearly 100 NGOs.
Ms. Bethany Kozma, director of the Secretary’s Office of Global Affairs at the Geneva Consensus Declaration Secretariat of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, opened the program. She highlighted the significance of the coalition’s expanding membership and growing solidarity, emphasizing that these developments will strengthen efforts at the United Nations to advance women’s health, protect the family and uphold the dignity of human life.
Amb. Dan Negrea, UN representative to the Economic and Social Council at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, stressed that the principles of the Geneva Consensus Declaration are essential to social and global well-being.
Mr. Riley M. Barnes, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor at the U.S. Department of State, emphasized that the declaration reaffirms principles enshrined in international documents previously negotiated and adopted by consensus. He further stated that national sovereignty, universal human rights, and the family are fundamental to the UN Charter and must be restored to advance the Sustainable Development Goals.
Delegates from six countries addressed the gathering, which was also attended by numerous representatives from governments, civil society organizations and other institutions.
By Lynn Walsh, Director, UPF Office of the Family September 23, 2026
