The multilateral foreign policy of the Holy See is particularly active on some issues, such as human rights, disarmament, and economic and social development, which are dealt with in international fora.
Right to life Both at the United Nations and at the various international conferences, the Holy See has promoted the "Culture of life", opposing efforts to legalize or endorse abortion and euthanasia through internationally legally binding instruments or non-binding declarations, advocating for the abolition of death penalty at the global level, and seeking to ban research on human embryos. At the United Nations General Assembly, the Holy See stated that:
Human cloning At the international level, the Holy See has underlined the ethical problems raised by some current forms of biomedical research.Benedict XVI, Address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See, 7 Jan 2008: The Holy See has been particularly active in the area of human cloning. In 2001, when Germany and France proposed at the United Nations General Assembly the adoption of an international convention to ban reproductive human cloning, the Holy See, together with a coalition of like-minded states that included Spain, Philippines, the United States, and Costa Rica, noted that such a convention would implicitly legitimize the cloning of human beings for research purposes,Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, the Views of the Holy See on Human Embryonic Cloning, 17 Jul 2003 para. 2 : which is more serious from an ethical point of view than the reproductive one,Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Instruction Dignitas Personae on certain bioethical questions, 8 Sep 2008, para 30: and proposed banning all forms of human cloning.See generally UNGA Ad Hoc Committee on an international convention against the reproductive cloning of human beings The Holy See objected to the "production of millions of human embryos with the intention of destroying them as part of the process of using them for scientific research" and to the instrumentalization and victimization of women, specially of the poorest women, in the process of harvesting the necessary human eggs.Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, the Views of the Holy See on Human Embryonic Cloning, 17 Jul 2003, para.5 . See also Statement of the Permanent Observer of the Holy See on Human Cloning, 30 Sep 2003 and Statement of the Permanent Observer of the Holy See on Human Cloning, 21 Oct 2004. These efforts lead to the successful adoption, in March 2005, of a United Nations Declaration on Human Cloning, which calls upon all member states of the UN "to prohibit all forms of human cloning inasmuch as they are incompatible with human dignity and the protection of human life".
Death penalty In 2007, the Holy See argued at the United Nations that the death penalty should be used exceptionally, only when its use is necessary to protect society against an aggressor, a situation which is "practically non-existent" today, since societies have other ways of protecting their citizens. In addition, it noted that capital punishment is frequently discriminatory, since it is imposed most often on the poorest and on members of religious, ethnic and racial minorities; and that it is irreversible, since it excludes all possibilities of recourse and restoration in the event of a miscarriage of justice.Statements of the Holy See on draft resolution A/C.3/62/L.29 “Moratorium on the use of the death penalty”, 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, 15 Nov 2007 Consequently, the Holy See worked for the adoption of a UN moratorium on the death penalty. At his Address to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See of 7 Jan 2008, Pope Benedict XVI said:
Freedom of conscience and religion
Following Vatican Council II,Vatican Council II, Declaration of Religious Freedom 'Dignitatis Humanae', 7 December 1965, para. 2:This Vatican Council declares that the human person has a right to religious freedom. This freedom means that all men are to be immune from coercion on the part of individuals or of social groups and of any human power, in such wise that no one is to be forced to act in a manner contrary to his own beliefs, whether privately or publicly, whether alone or in association with others, within due limits. The council further declares that the right to religious freedom has its foundation in the very dignity of the human person as this dignity is known through the revealed word of God and by reason itself. This right of the human person to religious freedom is to be recognized in the constitutional law whereby society is governed and thus it is to become a civil right. the Holy See has uphold, at the international level, the centrality of the freedom of conscience and religion among all Human RightsBenedict XVI, Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace: Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace, 1 Jan 2011, para. 5: "It could be said that among the fundamental rights and freedoms rooted in the dignity of the person, religious freedom enjoys a special status. When religious freedom is acknowledged, the dignity of the human person is respected at its root, and the ethos and institutions of peoples are strengthened. On the other hand, whenever religious freedom is denied, and attempts are made to hinder people from professing their religion or faith and living accordingly, human dignity is offended, with a resulting threat to justice and peace, which are grounded in that right social order established in the light of Supreme Truth and Supreme Goodness." since, in its view, those freedoms impinge on essence of the Human person.Benedict XVI, Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace: Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace, 1 Jan 2011, para. 2: The right to religious freedom is rooted in the very dignity of the human person, whose transcendent nature must not be ignored or overlooked. God created man and woman in his own image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:27). For this reason each person is endowed with the sacred right to a full life, also from a spiritual standpoint. Without the acknowledgement of his spiritual being, without openness to the transcendent, the human person withdraws within himself, fails to find answers to the heart’s deepest questions about life’s meaning, fails to appropriate lasting ethical values and principles, and fails even to experience authentic freedom and to build a just society. Pope Benedict XVI noted that "religious freedom expresses what is unique about the human person, for it allows us to direct our personal and social life to God, in whose light the identity, meaning and purpose of the person are fully understood. To deny or arbitrarily restrict this freedom is to foster a reductive vision of the human person; to eclipse the public role of religion is to create a society which is unjust, inasmuch as it fails to take account of the true nature of the human person; it is to stifle the growth of the authentic and lasting peace of the whole human family."Benedict XVI, Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace: Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace, 1 Jan 2011, para. 1. Thus, the respect for freedom of religion is at the basis of the respect for all other human rights.Benedict XVI, Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace: Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace, 1 Jan 2011, para. 3:Religious freedom is at the origin of moral freedom. Openness to truth and perfect goodness, openness to God, is rooted in human nature; it confers full dignity on each individual and is the guarantee of full mutual respect between persons. Religious freedom should be understood, then, not merely as immunity from coercion, but even more fundamentally as an ability to order one’s own choices in accordance with truth. Freedom and respect are inseparable; indeed, “in exercising their rights, individuals and social groups are bound by the moral law to have regard for the rights of others, their own duties to others and the common good of all”(Vatican Council II, Declaration of Religious Freedom 'Dignitatis Humanae', 7 December 1965, para. 7.). Consequently, the Holy See has called upon States to comply with their international commitments to respect those rights. It has stated:
Recognition of the dignity of each and every person, which the Human Rights Council was formed to protect and promote, entails full respect for the inner and transcendent dimension of the human person, which is an integral part of what it means to be a human being. Through the free exercise of conscience and moral decision making, human beings are able to transform themselves into living members of social life whose good will, charity and hope promote the dignity and wellbeing of every member of the human family. Intrinsically linked to freedom of conscience is the freedom of religion by which human beings are able to pursue the most important relationship of their life, that is, their relationship with God. Freedom of religion necessarily entails the freedom to ascribe to a set of beliefs, to adopt or change one’s religion, to profess one’s faith and to practice fully that faith openly and publicly. Governments have a solemn responsibility to safeguard rather than ridicule this inalienable right. Since the State is not the author of any fundamental human right, it must respect that intimate and fundamental sanctuary of human freedom, the conscience, and to allow each conscience its fullest and highest expression in the free exercise of religious faith.Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Statement on the Report of the Human Rights Council, New York, 3 November 2010.
In parallel, the Holy See condemns the violation to the freedom of religion, specially when suffered by Christians: It is painful to think that in some areas of the world it is impossible to profess one’s religion freely except at the risk of life and personal liberty. In other areas we see more subtle and sophisticated forms of prejudice and hostility towards believers and religious symbols. At present, Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith. Many Christians experience daily affronts and often live in fear because of their pursuit of truth, their faith in Jesus Christ and their heartfelt plea for respect for religious freedom. This situation is unacceptable, since it represents an insult to God and to human dignity; furthermore, it is a threat to security and peace, and an obstacle to the achievement of authentic and integral human development.Benedict XVI, Message for the Celebration of the World Day of Peace: Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace, 1 Jan 2011, para. 1.