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October 14, 2004
Once Again, Bush Turns Back On UN
It was reported by CBSnews.com yesterday that more than 250 world leaders have urged the United Nations to endorse a population agenda adopted a decade ago that seeks women’s health care, education and family planning. Can you guess who didn’t support the agenda? That’s right, our boy Bush!
Can you guess the reason behind why the Bush administration is failing to support this plan? Because the statement includes the term, “sexual rights”. Ooooh, they said seeexxx! U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kelly Ryan stated that the concept of “sexual rights” has no definition that’s agreed on in the international community. Ten years after the landmark International Conference on Population and Development, the statement was given to Deputy Secretary-general Louise Frechette, who thought that it was “a brilliant idea”. The reference to “sexual rights” was included in this section of the statement:
"the world's governments and civil society committed to an action plan to ensure universal access to reproductive health information and services, uphold fundamental human rights including sexual and reproductive rights, alleviate poverty, secure gender equality, and protect the environment.”
A bit nit-picky, don’t ya think? The plan was signed by 85 prime ministers and presidents, which included the entire European Union, China, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan and more than a dozen African countries. U.S. Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and 47 nobel prize winners also signed the statement.
The concept of “sexual rights” was, in fact, addressed a year after the plan was adopted at the U.N. women’s conference in Beijing. They determined that “The human rights of women include their right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence." That sounds like a pretty clear-cut definition to me, don’t you think? But can we expect much more from this administration? Me thinks not.
Since Bush took office in 2000, $34 million in annual funds for the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) have been withheld on grounds that it supports forced abortions in China, which Washington never proved. It’s obvious that the only way to get our country to support international women’s rights again is to get us a new president.
Posted by at October 14, 2004 1:04 PM
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