World Congress of Families

Known for his “measured” public rhetoric but also his staunch opposition to marriage equality, Brown has a long history in anti-LGBTQIA+ activism. He became director of the Family Institute of Connecticut (FIC) in 2001, where he fought against marriage equality, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in the state.

Over the past few years, he has gradually refocused his opposition to marriage equality to international work, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality. Working through the United Nations and international channels, WCF has pushed the doctrine of the “natural family” – one man married to one woman and their biological children.

During his tenure at FIC, the group posted some materials on its website that offered false and damaging claims about LGBT people, including calling them promiscuous and linking same-sex parents to pedophilia and a shortened lifespan.

Brown is also the Co-Founder of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM).  NOM’s primary focus then was to push a ballot measure in California to ban same-sex marriage. Proposition 8, as it was called, passed but was later found unconstitutional. [Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 11/24/21]

IOF is the new name for The Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society, which is the former parent organization of WCF. 

IOF Lists 4 Main Projects On Its Website, Including WCF. 

• The World Congress of Families (WCF) “convenes major international public events to unite and equip leaders, organizations, and families to affirm, celebrate, and defend the natural family as the only fundamental and sustainable unit of society.” [IOF Website, accessed 10/27/21]
• The Natural Family: “An International Journal of Research and Policy (TNF) is a quarterly academic publication that informs and inspires leaders to promote the natural family as the fundamental group unit of society and to protect the sanctity and dignity of all human life”. [IOF Website, accessed 10/27/21]
• The Article 16 Initiative (A16) “empowers leaders in worldwide institutions to protect freedom, faith, and family as the natural and fundamental group unit of society consistent with Article 16 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” [IOF Website, accessed 10/27/21]
• The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) “equips and empowers young professionals, scholars, and activists to promote marriage, and the natural family as the fundamental group unit of society”. [IOF Website, accessed 10/27/21]

IOF Has Been Referred To As A Rebranding Of The World Congress Of Families. “The group is effectively a reboot of the World Congress of Families, a 21-year-old federation of socially conservative organizations from around the globe. Although the group’s international summits drew attendees from dozens of countries, it was a loosely organized network of anti-abortion and anti-LGBT activists rather than a focused advocacy organization…Rebranding as the International Organization for the Family appears to be part of positioning the group as a more muscular advocacy group targeting marriage equality.” [Buzzfeed News, 12/13/16]

The intellectual birth of the WCF can be traced back to former history professor Allan Carlson, who is the former Howard Center president, a historian, and also a former Reagan administration official. Carlson was a professor of history at conservative Christian Hillsdale College, whose curriculum is based on teaching Western heritage as a product of Greco-Roman culture and Judeo-Christian traditions. [Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 10/27/21]

Okafor has supported anti-LGBT laws in Nigeria that criminalize gay sex and ban group meetings of LGBT people. She has also suggested that Boko Haram might be conspiring with gay rights advocates to target Christians. As part of her work with the Foundation for African Cultural Heritage, Okafor has succeeded in keeping sex education out of Nigerian schools.

She has also claimed that reproductive rights are part of “the sinister agenda to downsize and control Africa,” while calling LGBT rights in Africa “another ploy to depopulate Africa.” [Southern Poverty Law Center, accessed 10/27/21]

“Katharina Rothweiler, the International Coordinator of the Mexican pro-life and pro-family organization Red Familia, criticized the presence of “pro-choice and pro-contraceptive lobby groups” at the conference. In response to the perceived emphasis that the officially-sponsored program places on condom distribution programs, Red Familia organized shadow events emphasizing “zero risk” abstinence and fidelity as a key to halting AIDS.” [Rochester Area Right to Life, accessed 10/27/21] Rothweiler also has ties to Alliance Defending Freedom – a more lobbying/policy oriented entity [SPLC, accessed 02/03/21]

Serrano is listed as a speaker at the 2007 WCF in Warsaw, Poland, and the 2004 WCF in Mexico City. “He was strongly involved in the organization and realization of the VI World Meeting of Families, which brought together tens of thousands of people from 98 countries on five continents from January 14 to 18 in Mexico City…He was president of ALAFA (Latin American Alliance for the Family), Mexico chapter; and Director of the Council of “Red Familia”, an institution that brings together more than one hundred pro-family and pro-life organizations in Mexico. One of the main organizers of the III International Congress of the Family, a civil initiative, which was held in Mexico City in 2004.” [Vatican Website, accessed 10/27/2021] Serrano was a member of the Pontifical Council for the Family since 2004 and passed away recently.

• The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF, formerly Alliance Defense Fund) is a $40 million per year organization based in Scottsdale, AZ. They have been a partner of WCF for many years – with many executives being a part of WCF planning committees etc. – [Political Research Associates, Accessed 11/24/21]
• Founded in 1994 by a cohort of some 30 leaders in the Christian Right to defend religious freedom, including such luminaries as the late D. James Kennedy (of the former Coral Ridge Ministries; now D. James Kennedy Ministries), Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, and American Family Association founder Don Wildmon. – [Political Research Associates, Accessed 11/24/21]
• It has a staff of at least 40 in-house lawyers and a network of over 2,400 allied lawyers. Its board of directors is stacked with partners from powerful law firms and captains of industry. –  [Political Research Associates, Accessed 11/24/21]
• ADF has recently become active at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the judicial agency responsible for monitoring human rights accountability in Latin America, and the Organization of American States. –  [Political Research Associates, Accessed 11/24/21]
  • In 2013, ADF successfully lobbied Latin American delegates at the OAS to kill a treaty that included provisions that could have stemmed the growing violence against LGBTQ people in those countries.- [Political Research Associates, Accessed 11/24/21]
• Alan Sears – current CEO and President (former positions in the Bush Administration) [Political Research Associates, accessed 10/27/21]

• “Red Familia, a network of similarly conservative Mexican organizations that began in 1999, co-sponsored the WCF Between April and November in 2005, Red Familia reportedly grew from a network of 150 member groups to 360, with representation from every state in Mexico. The organization has received support from the PAN government for its events, including the World Congress, as well as U.S. government funds through Concerned Women for America (CWA) Though the partnership between CWA and Red Familia is a supposed effort to combat sex trafficking, Red Familia does not have significant experience in this area.” [Georgetown Journal on Gender and the Law, 2010, accessed 10/27/2021
• Ties to Citizen Go and Hazte Oir [Today in 24, accessed 2/3/2021]
• Around 100 listed organizations as being under the “Red Familia” Umbrella [Red Familia Website, Accessed 2/3/2021]
• Held a protest outside of the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation after the decision to decriminalize abortion, announced that they will support the right of doctors to refuse an abortion  [MVS Noticias, Accessed 2/3/2021]
• José Manuel Campero Pardo, President of Red Familia, was a speaker at WCF’s 2022 Mexico City conference

The National Christian Foundation Has Funded Many Of The WCF Conferences’ Speakers. “Out of the 101-odd American speakers featured at major World Congress of Families congresses from WCF I, held in Prague in 1997, to WCF VI, held in Madrid in 2012, 48 of those speakers, almost half, were attached to organizations that have been funded by the National Christian Foundation.” [TwoCare Website, Accessed 10/27/2021]

• VIFAC is an influential anti-abortion organization that has operated both anti-abortion centers and maternity homes in Mexico for almost four decades. It deters pregnant people from abortion and then houses them through birth—and then steers these often low-income, new parents toward giving up their babies for adoption. VIFAC recently expanded its operations to the United States, opening a center in Texas.
• Marilú Mariscal, Founding President of VIFAC, was a speaker at WCF’s 2022 Mexico City conference.

• WCF’s international conferences, or “Congresses,” function as key sites of right-wing strategy development and dissemination. These events typically attract thousands of participants and build WCF’s international influence by bringing together sympathetic elected officials, religious leaders, scientists, scholars, and civil society from around the world. The headlining speakers are typically high-profile leaders of the U.S. Christian Right, representing larger, better-resourced organizations that sign on as WCF partners.- [Political Research Associates, Accessed 11/24/21]
• The first World Congress was held in Prague in March 1997 (700 attendees) – WCF has held most of its conferences in former Soviet states. [Political Research Associates, Accessed 11/24/21]

In 2004, WCF—And IOF Members Including Red Familia—Hosted A Conference in Mexico City, WCF III

• The 2004 WCF III In Mexico City Emphasized Opposition To Marriage Equality. “In 2004, World Congress III was hosted by Red Familia, and Family and Society in Mexico City. It was here that United Families International board member, Craig A. Cardon spoke and UN Ambassador to Commission of the Status of Women Ellen Saurbrey attended in support of families and marriage. Action items were created and emphasis was put on fighting for marriage between a man and a woman.” [United Families International, accessed 11/23/21] 
• The Mexican Government, Under The Conservative Regime Of Vincente Fox, Has “Reportedly Financed” WCF III.  [SIECUS, Accessed 11/3/2021]
  • Red Familia Was Able To Get Financial Support For This WCF From Mexico’s Large Businesses Banamex And Bimbo. “The Mexican government, under the conservative regime of Vincente Fox, has also reportedly financed events held by Red Familia (including the World Congress of Families) and therefore assisted in the meteoric rise of the organization and its network. Red Familia was also successful in getting large support for the World Congress from two of Mexico’s largest businesses, the financial institution Banamex and the nation’s largest producer of bakery goods, Bimbo.” [SIECUS, Accessed 11/3/2021]
• Attendees Of WCF III Included:
  • Marta Sahagún De Fox, President Vincente Fox Of Mexico, And Ambassador Sauerbrey Attended WCF III In Mexico. [State Department Archives, accessed 10/27/2021]
  • Dr. Rodrigo Guerra, Now The Head Of The Vatican’s Commission For Latin America, Was In Attendance. [WCF YouTube, accessed 10/27/2021; CruxNow, Accessed 10/27/2021]
  • Josefina Vasquez Mota, Senator Of The Mexican Republic Was In Attendance And Spoke About The Need For Public Policies Having A Family Perspective. [WCF YouTube, accessed 10/27/2021]
  • Ana Teresa Aranda, Secretary Of Social Development Under President Vicente Fox In 2006, Was In Attendance. [WCF YouTube, accessed 10/27/2021]
• The 2004 Mexico City Declaration Was A Document Emanating From WCF III. 
• • Enumerates “challenges to the family’s very legitimacy as an institution”- [Book: “What is right for Children”, Accessed 11/2/2021]

In 2022, WCF Held Its First Conference In Mexico City Since 2004

• Red Familia And The Global Center for Human Rights Were Sponsors Of The Conference. 

[WCFMexico.org, accessed 1/30/23]

• Notable Speakers Included The Leaders of Red Familia, Family Watch International, and VIFAC. 
  • José Manuel Campero Pardo, President of the Council of Red Familia: José Manuel Campero Pardo (Manuel Camparo) gave a fear-mongering speech at the World Congress of Families’ 2022 Mexico City Conference. He claimed a crisis within families—pointing to young people no longer wanting to get married, he stated that “we cannot leave education in the hands of a school.” He also proposed we live by “Presence in Marriage and Paternity; Patience to live together from love; and Forgiveness.” 
  • Sharon Slater, President of Family Watch International: Sharon Slater is the founder and current President of FWI. After founding FWI as Global HAWC in 1999, Slater grew the organization to maintain a presence at the UN, where she regularly pushes homophobic, transphobic, anti-abortion, and anti-CSE efforts. As Chair of the UN Family Rights Council, Slater engages at the UN so regularly that she has even been wrongly identified as a “spokesperson for the United Nations.” Slater has referred to LGBT individuals as diseased and “more likely to engage in pedophilia,” and was for many years connected to Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa, who enthusiastically supported the country’s “Kill the Gays” legislation.
  • Marilú Mariscal, Founding President of VIFAC: María Guadalupe “Marilú” Mariscal de Vilchis (Her maiden name was María Guadalupe Mariscal Toroella) is the founding president of VIFAC. She is trained as a nurse; her publicly used biography also says she has received training as a family counselor, however, the programs mentioned as a part of this training were at a business school (IPADE in Mexico City) and an honorary doctorate degree. Under her leadership, VIFAC has expanded across 26 Mexican states and Brownsville, Texas. She spoke at the World Congress of Family’s Congreso Mundial de las Familias in Mexico in September and October of 2022. Unable to have biological children herself, Mariscal adopted her children. Throughout her career, she has advocated for adoption laws in Mexico, the rehabilitation of “moral” education, and alternatives to abortion. 
• Notable Attendees Included Anti-Abortion Advocates And Former Trump Administration Officials. 
• • Jim Daly, President of Focus on the Family: Jim Daly is president of Focus on the Family. One of Daly’s most public roles is to be the main host of FOTF’s podcast and radio program. Daly has lauded recent restrictive Texas abortion legislation as “common sense” and “a step in the right direction.” Daly has claimed that “Satan himself is promoting same-sex marriage since “he hates marriage because it’s a reflection of God’s image.” 
  • Valerie Huber, former anti-abortion and influential Trump administration official: Valerie Huber is an American anti-abortion, abstinence-only advocate who served in multiple capacities during the Trump administration. She worked within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), first as Chief of Staff for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health (OASH) at HHS, then as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of HHS’s Office of Population Affairs (OPA) where she oversaw drastic changes to Title X, the nation’s only family planning program. She then became Senior Policy Advisor in the OASH, an office that is under the Trump administration, and made it harder for people in the US to obtain birth control and accurate information about their reproductive healthcare. HHS made massive cuts to grants for teenage pregnancy prevention programs under her watch. She also oversaw the removal of all references to birth control from the national family planning grant process guidelines, instead emphasizing “sexual risk avoidance”. On January 15, 2019, Politico reported that Huber had been reassigned to HHS’ Office of Global Affairs (OGA). The OGA is charged with HHS’ “global health diplomacy” initiatives, which under the Trump administration, were detrimental to reproductive health care. Those programs and policies OGA is involved with include the Helms Amendment and the Global Gag Rule.
  • Eduardo Verástegui, Mexican actor, anti-abortion advocate, and founder of El Manto de Guadalupe: Eduardo Verástegui is an anti-abortion advocate and a former member of former President Donald Trump’s Advisory Commission on Hispanic Prosperity. He founded el Manto de Guadalupe, an anti-abortion non-profit organization founded in March 2011.

• WCF seeks to promote its global war on women and LGBTQ people by influencing policy at the United Nations and through smaller, regional events. In 2009, WCF hosted its first African conference in Abuja, Nigeria, and with the help of partner organizations, WCF is eagerly expanding its influence throughout the Global South. – [Political Research Associates, Accessed 11/24/21]
• Their stated aim is to build an international movement of “religiously grounded family morality systems” that can influence and shape policy at the United Nations. [AWID, Accessed 11/4/2021]

The IOF’s Article 16 Initiative Seeks To Apply The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights To Its Extremist “Pro-Family” Aims. 

• The Article 16 Initiative of the IOF “seeks to preserve, protect, and promote the family as society’s “natural and fundamental” unit, as recognized in Article 16(3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in over 100 national constitutions” – [IOF website, Accessed 11/24/21]
• Article 16(3) reads: “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.”  – [IOF website, Accessed 11/24/21]

• WCF’s American Speakers Have Pushed Forward Its Conferences With Their “Talking Points And Polemics.” “The impact of the WCF has been driven by the talent of the World Congress of Families’ American speakers, and their talking points and polemics – which have been honed over decades during the U.S. religious right’s ceaseless kulturkampf against secularism and pluralism since the rise of the movement in the 1970s and 1980s.” [TwoCare Website, Accessed 10/27/2021] 
• “WCF Enables Politicians To Connect The Dots Between Narratives Of Demographic And Civilizational Decline, Creating A More Palatable Narrative For Anti-LGBT And Anti-Immigrant Policies And Views, One That Is Particularly Popular In Eastern Europe’s Far-Right Climate.” [SPLC, Accessed 11/2/2021]
• WCF Engages In “Knowledge Production And Dissemination Through A Devoted Academic Journal, The Family In America, Which Will Soon Be Called The Natural Family: An International Journal Of Research And Policy, And A Related News Service.” [AWID, Accessed 11/4/2021]
• WCF Coauthored An Anti-Abortion “UN Negotiating Guide.” “Together with United Families International, the WCF recently co-authored the third edition of the massive UN Negotiating Guide116, a comprehensive text that advises anti-rights—including ‘pro-life’—actors on negotiating tactics, key talking points, and ‘consensus language’ to further their advocacy at the United Nations.”  [AWID, Accessed 11/4/2021]

WCF Is Known For Its Involvement In The Passage Of The Russian LGBT Propaganda Law. 

• The Russian federal law “for the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating for a Denial of Traditional Family Values”, also known as the “gay propaganda law” and the “anti-gay law” is a bill that was unanimously approved by the State Duma in June 2014 (with just one MP abstaining—Ilya Ponomarev), and was signed into law by President Vladimir Putin on 30 June 2013. – [Wikipedia, Accessed 11/24/21]
•  Over 100 conservative groups worldwide signed a petition in support of the law, with Larry Jacobs, manager of the World Congress of Families, supporting its aim to “prohibit advocacy aimed at involving minors in a lifestyle that would imperil their physical and moral health.”- [Wikipedia, Accessed 11/24/21]

WCF Maintains Consultative Status at the UN. 

• The Howard Center obtained ECOSOC consultative status at the United Nations in 2003, with many other partner organizations, allies, and some states also pushing forth its anti-LGBTQIA+ and anti-reproductive rights values internationally. The Howard Center maintains this special consultative status today. 
• “The Howard Center collaborated with delegates and several other groups during United Nations meetings to promote pro-family policies and language, with an emphasis on empowering the family unit to achieve the international development goals. It also participated in the Open Working Groups to determine the goals for the Post-2015 Agenda.” [UN Economic and Social Council Quadrennial Report on NGOs, 2016]

WCF Had Petitioned the Mexican Government to “Save Marriage in Mexico City”

• The Petition calls on the government of Mexico City to refrain from implementing same-sex marriage and demands that the issue be decided at the national level, “with due regard to the nation’s religious traditions, the wishes of the Mexican people and the needs of children and families, and consistent with Mexico’s Constitution.” [Right Wing Watch, Accessed 11/3/2021]

• ProPublica’s financial info reflects that WCF/Howard Center/IOF is not a 501(c)(4) designated organization.

• Howard Center Fiscal Year 2019 Financials 
• Financial reporting under the umbrella of the Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society (now named IOF) – Incorporated in Rockford, Illinois 
• A substantial portion of WCF’s revenue comes from membership dues contributed by its partner organizations
  • The combined annual budget for WCF’s partner network amounts to over $200 million. [Political Research Associates, Accessed 11/4/2021]
• 501(c)(3) Designation – since September 1996