A/HRC/28/40 I. Introduction 1. On 26 June 2014, at its twenty-sixth session, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 26/11, in which it decided to convene a panel discussion on the protection of the family and its members in order to address the implementation of States’ obligations under relevant provisions of international human rights law and discuss challenges and best practices in that regard. 2. The panel discussion was held during the twenty-seventh session of the Human Rights Council, on 15 September 2014. It was opened by Jane Connors, Director of the Research and Right to Development Division of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and presentations were made by the following panellists: Hiranthi Wijemanne, member of the Committee on the Rights of the Child; Aslan Abashidze, member of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Karen Bogenschneider, Rothermel Bascom Professor of Human Ecology, University of Wisconsin; Zitha Mokomane, Chief Research Specialist, Human and Social Development Research Programme, Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa; and Rosa Inés Floriano Carrera, Coordinator, Department of Life, Justice and Peace, Caritas, Colombia. The panel discussion was moderated by Yvette Stevens, Permanent Representative of Sierra Leone to the United Nations in Geneva. 3. The participants in the discussion were: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica (on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States), Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia (on behalf of the African Group), the European Union, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Iceland, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Maldives, Mexico, Montenegro, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan (on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Conference), Poland, Qatar, Russian Federation (on behalf of the Like-Minded Group), Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (on behalf of the Arab Group), United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay and Zambia. 4. Representatives of the following non-governmental organizations (NGOs) took the floor: Allied Rainbow Communities International on behalf of the International Service for Human Rights, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission; Plan International on behalf of Child Rights Connect, Defence for Children International, Eurochild, the International Federation of Social Workers, Save the Children International and SOS Children’s Villages International; the NGO Group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Howard Center for Family, Religion and Society; Caritas Internationalis; and the Federation for Women and Family Planning. II. Summary of the discussion A. Opening statement 5. In her opening statement, Ms. Connors highlighted the fact that the family and the rights of its members were referred to in a range of human rights treaties, in relation to their civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights. The treaties provided the normative foundation for the discussion on how to understand protection of the family and its members. They included the rights of adults to marry and found a family, the free and informed consent requirement for entering into marriage, women’s right to equality within 3