When the World Congress of Families II convenes in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sunday, a sizable delegation from BYU and the LDS Church will be among those gathered.
BYU's role in international policy setting was not always so major. Supporters of the traditional family were fighting an uphill battle until the day in 1996 that family-rights workers now call 'the miracle at Istanbul.'
In June 1996, BYU law professor Richard G. Wilkins and representatives from United Families International, a Provo-based non-government organization, attended the Habitat II Conference in Istanbul, Turkey. The United Nations had gathered people to discuss urban development and human rights issues. The agenda had largely been determined by liberal policy advocates.
Conveners were about to approve of a document that recognized same-sex partnerships, increased funding for adolescent sexual reproductive services and education, demanded government-sponsored day care and abortion on demand, and worked toward having 'every woman fully employed' outside the home, when Wilkins was invited to speak briefly.
He spoke of the principles included in the First Presidency's Proclamation to the World.
'I said that families are the foundation of any stable society, because families are where we learn to live together,' Wilkins said. 'I said that it is very dangerous to experiment and change the legal and social norms that support and protect the family.'
The room fell silent as diplomats and politicians listened to the unorthodox.
'It was quite like standing on the shore of the Red Sea with Moses and watching the water part. In a very real sense, it was the same kind of miracle,' Wilkins said.
After Wilkins' speech, the Muslim delegations to the Habitat II issued a joint declaration refusing to sign any agenda unless it reaffirmed the central importance of religion and family.
Wilkins returned to BYU and joined with the J. Reuben Clark Law School, David M. Kennedy Center and School of Family Life to establish the World Family Policy Center and the non-government organization Family Voice.