United States Stands Alone in Blocking Consensus at Bangkok Conference on Population, Say U.S. Groups

Bangkok, Thailand - December 12, 2002

In the following joint statement released today, representatives of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and Population Action International (PAI) attending the Fifth Asian and Pacific Population Conference, report the United States is attempting to block reaffirmation of a landmark agreement on population and development. The conference is expected to adopt a comprehensive plan aimed at further advancing the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo in 1994.

It is clear that the overwhelming majority of country delegations came to this meeting intent on reaffirming the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development. Recent State Department claims to the contrary, it seems clear that reaffirmation is the furthest thing from the U.S. delegation's mind.

The U.S. delegation seems insistent upon watering down language on women's health and rights in a draft Plan of Action under consideration, despite the steadfast resistance of other country delegations in the room. At this point in the deliberations, every country but the United States has spoken in support of reaffirming the ICPD consensus; not one has supported the U.S. position.

What the U.S. delegation seems to have forgotten is that these are not simply words on a page. The ICPD Programme of Action laid the groundwork for the dropping of targets and quotas in family planning programs in India; the improvement in the quality and range of services offered in clinics in dozens of countries; and the changing of laws in countries — such as Nepal — that previously sent women to jail for having an abortion.

Most disturbing in all this is the fact that all this is being done to satisfy the narrow conservative domestic political base to which President Bush is beholden — and with the potential for significant harm to women's health and lives.

Women's lives are the issue; women's lives are at stake; and the U.S. here is putting more women's lives in peril.

Just a few weeks ago, the State Department went on record as supporting many of the goals of the 1994 conference. It is now increasingly clear that the Bush Administration's definition of ‘support’ differs significantly from the definition used by every other delegation at this conference. Indeed, it would be more accurate to say that the delegation here is intent on dismantling ICPD.

The only heartening aspect of this situation is the overwhelming response of the other countries represented at the Conference. They came here to improve the health situation of the world's men and women. Indeed, we join with groups from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island countries in congratulating the many delegations that continue to reaffirm their commitments to the principles, goals and actions of the Programme of Action.

Population Action International (PAI) works to improve individual well-being and preserve global resources by mobilizing political and financial support for population, family planning and reproductive health policies and programs.