BRUSSELS

The parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation in Belgium unanimously adopted a draft resolution Thursday making sex education compulsory in schools, triggering protests.

The bill, which targets 85,000 students in the French-speaking Wallonia region and 25,000 in Brussels, was passed unanimously, with only three deputies abstaining.

Hundreds of people, mostly Muslims, staged a protest early Thursday outside parliament.

On Wednesday, Muslim associations in Belgium expressed their opposition to the program, saying in a joint statement that it "raises major concerns when it comes to its means of application and the messages that it will deliver."

"This decision seems to confront the universal and inviolable values of the familial education framework and the interests of the students and their families," the statement said.

The statement was signed by seven associations including the Diyanet Foundation, the Islamic Federation of Belgium, the Federation of Albanian Mosques in Belgium, the Belgium African Mosques Union, the Liege Mosques Union, the Belgium Bosnian Islamic Community and the Ehli-Beyt Turkish Islamic Culture Center.

Sex education for all grades has existed in Belgium since 2012, but it was not compulsory.

The latest decision makes it mandatory for every 4th and 6th grade primary school student to take these courses.