U.S. May Abandon Support of U.N. Population Accord
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By James Dao
WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 - The Bush administration, embroiling itself in a
new fight at the United Nations, has threatened to withdraw its sup- port for a landmark family planning agreement that the United States
helped write eight years ago.
The reason for the threat is contained in two terms that the admini- stration contends can be construed as promoting abortion. The terms -
reproductive health services and reproductive rights - figure in the
final declaration of the United Nations population conference in 1994
in Cairo, which embraced a new concept of population policy based on
improving the legal rights and economic status of women. The declara- tion has since been endorsed by 179 nations. But during a population
and development conference in Bangkok this week, the American delega- tion announced that Washington would not reaffirm its support for the
Cairo "program of action" unless the disputed words were changed or
removed, United States and United Nations officials said.
The threat startled members of other delegations attending the Asian
and Pacific Population Conference and drew immediate criticism from
Chinese, Indian and Indonesian officials, who argued that the Ameri- can position would undermine a global consensus on population policy,
according to United Nations officials. The threat has also elicited a
sharp response from some Europeans. "I think it is disappointing and
incredible," said Agnes van Ardenne, the Dutch minister for develop- ment cooperation. "Poverty reduction will not be successful without
reproductive health and without women being able to make their own
choices."
Congressional Democrats and United Nations officials underscored
these concerns today, saying that a decision by the administration to
withdraw support for the Cairo program would undermine the efforts of
family planning officials in countries that have looked to the United
States to take the lead in checking population growth.
"The impact of these public statements is devastating and could un- dermine 10 years of work," Representative Carolyn Maloney, Democrat
of New York, said in a draft letter to Secretary of State Colin L.
Powell that she began circulating on Capitol Hill today. "It is
likely that repressive countries will follow the U.S. in its decision
and the progress that has been made will cease."
The State Department declined to comment on the dispute today. But
administration officials acknowledged that the United States might
not reaffirm its support for the Cairo program unless the disputed
phrases were withdrawn or modified.
The 1994 conference was widely considered a watershed event because
it moved away from traditional ideas of family planning and embraced
the idea that giving women more control over their lives would pro- vide a check against explosive population growth.
The program of action called for stabilizing the world's population
at no more than 9.8 billion by 2050 and it urged countries to make
health care widely accessible, reduce maternal mortality, provide
universal access to primary education and stem the spread of H.I.V.
and AIDS. The program also suggested that where abortion is legal, it
should be made safe.
The program's acknowledgment that legal abortion could be part of
health care has drawn objections from the Vatican and several Muslim
and Latin American countries. But over the years, the United States
has consistently reaffirmed the Cairo principles.
One of the Vatican's chief negotiators in Cairo, John Klink, was an
adviser to the United States delegation in Bangkok, United Nations
officials said.
Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life
Committee, praised the Bush administration's stand. "We certainly ap- prove of any effort by the administration to make it clear that abor- tion is not an acceptable method of family planning," Mr.Johnson
said. "There is a sort of code used in some of these U.N. documents,
and groups that advocate expanded access to abortion do construe
these phrases to include abortion."
The dispute over the Cairo program is only the most recent example of
administration efforts to withdraw American support from United Na- tions programs that it contends promote abortion.
In July, the administration decided to withhold $34 million in previ- ously approved aid to the United Nations Population Fund, contending
that the agency helps Chinese government agencies that force women to
have abortions.
In May, during the United Nations General Assembly's special session
on children, the Bush administration, the Vatican and some Muslim
countries unsuccessfully pushed for a policy to prevent teenagers
from getting abortions. The group also sought to make abstinence the
centerpiece of sex education for unmarried teenagers.
Timothy E. Wirth, the under secretary of state for global affairs in
1994, said he expected the Bush administration to reaffirm the Cairo
program eventually. If it does not, he said, the United States might
alienate important allies just as it is trying to build international
support for its Iraq policies.
"The reaction would be very negative," Mr. Wirth added, "at a time
when the administration is trying to put together international coa- litions on various efforts."
SOURCE: http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/02/international/asia/02ABOR.html?pagewan
November 2, 2002
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