Global Forum On Marriage: "One Man, One Woman: Unity in Diversity"

09. Dec. 2016 - 10. Dec. 2016 Cape Town, South Africa

During the conference, participants will sign the following document:

International Organization for Marriage (IOM)

CAPETOWN DECLARATION

Spanning the globe, we have no common tongue, culture, or creed. We are divided by history and
geography, by social customs and forms of government. But in foundations, we are united. We are
of one mind on the bedrock of civil society, on the basis of that first and primordial community
called the family: We affirm the dignity of marriage as the conjugal bond of man and woman. We
embrace it not as the parochial practice of any sect or nation or age, but as the patrimony of all
mankind. We defend it not as a matter of preference or temperament or taste but as the heart of
any just social order. Human beings thrive in communities. And every community finds its foundation where every
human being deserves to begin: in marriage. Here a man and a woman commit to join their whole
lives as one family and seal their love as one flesh. They show forth the fidelity and
unity-in-diversity of any healthy community. Thus do they secure for any children born of their
bond, the birthright of all men: to know the faithful love of the man and woman whose union gave
them life. Healthy marriages thus make demands of couples; but wounded ones make greater demands of
whole societies. A thriving culture will therefore serve marriage—and all society—by promoting
purity outside it and fidelity within; by discouraging pornography, adultery and divorce; and by
firmly resisting every push to redefine marriage: to include same-sex or group bonds, or sexually
open or temporary ones. We rededicate ourselves to honoring, restoring, and protecting these truths. We commit, where
possible, to refuse to deal with corporations that deny them. We pledge to resist the rising cultural
imperialism of Western powers whose governments seek nothing less than ideological
colonization. Together we join in common cause, East and West, North and South, to stand for a truth that no
government can change. Bowing to no earthly power, using every just measure, we shall not falter
or flag until the truth about marriage is embraced in our laws and honored in our lands.