AFRO-NETS> UNESCAP Plan of Action - US alone on the opposite side

[Claudio Schuftan <aviva@netnam.vn>]

UNESCAP Plan of Action - US alone on the opposite side
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Sent: Wednesday, December 18, 2002 8:16 PM

Please note that the most recent UNESCAP's Plan of Action "as ap-
proved aims to fight poverty throughout the world by focusing on 12 
areas, including family planning, gender equality and HIV/AIDS pre-
vention and treatment". The striking fact is US is the only country 
reject the plan. But what really amazed the world is that other coun-
tries could hold together and to be so strong to oppose the US in 
this matter.


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ALL PARTICIPANTS EXCEPT UNITED STATES REAFFIRM FAMILY PLANNING, 
HIV/AIDS PREVENTION LANGUAGE IN BANGKOK CONFERENCE PLAN OF ACTION

Access this story and related links online:
http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=15148

The Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference ended yesterday in 
Bangkok, Thailand, with the reaffirmation of a 1994 international 
family planning and population agreement by all of the participating 
countries except the United States, which continued to oppose lan-
guage in the conference's Plan of Action, the Jakarta Post reports 
(Yuliandini, Jakarta Post, 12/18). The Bush administration has said 
that portions of the Program of Action adopted at the 1994 Interna-
tional Conference of Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt -- 
specifically the phrases "reproductive health services" and "repro-
ductive rights" -- promote abortion (Dao, New York Times, 12/18). 

The U.S. delegation previously said it would not "reaffirm" provi-
sions from past agreements on reproductive health and family planning 
and instead would only "take note of, acknowledge, or recall" the 
commitments agreed to at previous conferences, including the Cairo 
meeting (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 12/17). 

Conference attendees yesterday rejected the U.S. delegation's pro-
posed changes to the draft in two votes of 31-1 and 32-1, the New 
York Times reports (New York Times, 12/18). The action was "virtually 
unprecedented" for a United Nations meeting, which generally operate 
on consensus. The United States, which abandoned its "demand for ex-
tensive amendments" and called for the vote, registered the only op-
posing vote, Agence France-Presse reports (Agence France-Presse, 
12/17). 

The plan as approved aims to fight poverty throughout the world by 
focusing on 12 areas, including family planning, gender equality and 
HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, the AP/Fort Lauderdale Sun-
Sentinel reports. The approved 22-page Plan of Action also calls for 
"consistent condom use," a phrase the U.S. delegation had asked to be 
removed, to help reduce the spread of HIV infection. The document 
states that population policies "must encompass the principle of vol-
untary and informed decision making and choices, the preservation and 
protection of human rights, including the matters related to repro-
ductive rights and reproductive health services" (Joshi, AP/Fort 
Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, 12/18).

Reaction

The conference outcome "shows that the countries [participating] have 
acted independently, looking at their own laws and sovereignty and 
abiding by their own priorities," United Nations Population Fund Ex-
ecutive Director Thoraya Obaid said. She added, "Even though the U.S. 
was the only dissenting voice in the meeting it did join the consen-
sus at the end." Assistant Secretary of State Eugene Dewey, the U.S. 
conference delegate, said, "There should be no inference drawn from 
the fact that everyone else seems to be very happy with the language 
-- and the U.S. is trying to improve the language in some cases -- 
that we have a great gulf between us and the other representatives 
here who share the objectives that we share" (Agence France-Presse, 
12/17). 

The U.S. delegation lodged a reservation with the Plan of Action, 
saying it was "deeply disappointed," according to the South China 
Morning Post. "Our proposals were rejected without any serious at-
tempt to bridge the gulf through normal compromises ... these matters 
reach into the heart of the very nature of life itself," it said 
(England, South China Morning Post, 12/18). Terri Bartlett, vice 
president of Population Action International, said, "Delegations came 
here prepared to strengthen language in the Plan of Action on areas 
of joint concern -- from women's rights, HIV/AIDS, migration and most 
of all, the elimination of poverty. Instead, they were met with road-
block after roadblock erected by the U.S. delegation in its singular 
determination to export a domestic political agenda to a region thou-
sands of miles away." She added, "At the end of five... days, the 
U.S. delegation then expressed its reservation about the weakness of 
the document on several key issues while, in reality, it was U.S. ac-
tions that prevented further progress from being made" (PAI release, 
12/17).

NPR's "All Things Considered" yesterday reported on the conclusion of 
the conference. The segment includes comments from Francoise Girard 
of the International Women's Health Coalition and Lalaine Viado of 
the Network of Asia Pacific Youth (Wilson, "All Things Considered," 
NPR, 12/17). The full segment is available in RealPlayer Audio 
online.

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