NEW YORK, February 19, 2021 (C-Fam) — The longstanding way UN negotiations come to agreement is with consensus rather than voting. Though consensus has changed over the years, it still allows a relatively small group of countries to block the political wishes of larger groups. This may be changing.
Progressive countries are increasingly frustrated that consensus has in some venues blocked both abortion and the LGBT agenda. This just happened in the Commission on Social Development.
The changes will be discussed in April at the next session of the Commission on Population and Development (CPD). The annual commission has been the scene of controversial negotiations on issues like abortion and sexual orientation and gender identity for decades. In three of the last four years, it has failed to reach an agreement. This is a source of frustration and embarrassment.
The written and unwritten rules of diplomacy require adoption of diplomatic agreements on the basis of unanimous consensus. This is considered the gold standard in all international proceedings. Agreements should be adopted without a vote and without objections. The simple threat of calling a vote and thwarting consensus is enough to stop a text from being adopted.
Diplomats preparing the next
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