The United States will assume the secretariat role for the Geneva Consensus Declaration, a multilateral agreement affirming that there is no international right to abortion, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a joint statement Aug. 11. The declaration, signed by dozens of countries, emphasizes national sovereignty over family policy and reproductive health decisions, the secretaries said.
Taking on the secretariat role means the U.S. will organize and lead ongoing international coordination among signatory nations.
The joint statement from two Cabinet secretaries represents a formal alignment of U.S. health and foreign policy on reproductive rights at the international level. The Geneva Consensus Declaration was originally introduced during the first Trump administration in 2020 and was subsequently withdrawn from by the Biden administration.
For Americans, the decision embeds a specific position on reproductive rights into the architecture of ongoing U.S. multilateral diplomacy. The secretariat role goes beyond signing a declaration; it positions the United States as the organizational hub for an international coalition on the issue.
The declaration’s signatory nations span Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Proponents describe it as a defense of national sovereignty against what they characterize as international pressure to recognize abortion as a human right.
Opponents, including international women’s health organizations, have argued that the declaration undermines global reproductive health programming and restricts access to family planning services in developing nations.
The State Department’s engagement reflects the administration’s broader approach to international institutions, which has emphasized reasserting U.S. positions on social policy issues in multilateral forums. The secretariat role will require ongoing State Department and HHS coordination with signatory governments.