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Same-sex marriage is not a human right

I refer to the letter “Marriage equality is a rights issue”; Oct 7, online). The debate over same-sex marriage is not fundamentally about equality but the meaning of marriage.

I refer to the letter “Marriage equality is a rights issue”; Oct 7, online). The debate over same-sex marriage is not fundamentally about equality but the meaning of marriage.

The classical view is that marriage solemnises an exclusive, permanent union based on the sexual complementarity of a man and a woman. It is intrinsically ordered to produce new life, even if it does not always do so.

On the other hand, advocates of same-sex marriage argue that marriage is an emotional union of two committed adults and, according to the writer, a “legally sanctioned contract”. This revisionist view of marriage has no basis in international human rights.

Article 23(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights recognises “the right of men and women of marriageable age to marry”.

In a 2002 communication, the United Nations Human Rights Committee explained that this obliges State parties to only recognise marriage as “the union between a man and a woman wishing to marry each other”.

In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights interpreted a similar article on the right to marry under the European Convention on Human Rights as enshrining “the traditional concept of marriage as being between a man and a woman”.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Singapore is a party to, mandates that the child’s best interests shall be a primary consideration in all actions concerning children.

Article 7 of the Convention further provides that every child should have, “as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents”.

Hence the Government recognises the institution of marriage, not because it is interested in adults’ romantic relationships but to support children’s right to be raised by a father and a mother as far as possible.

Since this is not always possible in an imperfect world, society should do what it can for children in these circumstances, including through adoption, foster care and other forms of support.

A progressive, compassionate society is one that protects its most vulnerable members and places their needs first, by creating an environment where children can succeed and fully assume their responsibilities within the community.

To this end, we should build a strong marriage and family culture, while always looking out for the needs of others.

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