Strong Latin American and Caribbean unity prevails over intense U.S. pressure to revert women’s rights

Ipas and other U.S. organizations attending the biannual meeting of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) applauded the approval of a resolution to reaffirm the Programme of Action of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development, which took place in Cairo, Egypt. The resolution passed despite weeks of intense pressure by U.S. government representatives on Latin American countries to roll back the 10-year old global consensus.

When country after country spoke for advancing the Cairo program to protect and promote the health of women, children and the environment, the United States was left with little choice but to join the consensus or to further isolate itself on the global stage.

Ipas Central America Director Marta María Blandón attended the San Juan meeting, along with representatives of other members of a coalition of U.S. organizations, A Mother's Promise the World Must Keep, that support reaffirming the 1994 agreement. The health, environmental, religious and human rights organizations - representing millions of Americans - called on the U.S. delegation to join the U.S. public and the global community in support of the consensus. On Wednesday, June 29, the campaign released a list of 34 U.S. mayors and four governors who have issued proclamations calling on the federal government to reaffirm the Cairo Consensus, along with a letter signed by more than 100 members of Congress.

While U.S. groups welcomed the consensus on the ECLAC resolution to reaffirm, they remained skeptical of U.S. government policies.  “The Bush administration’s record on women’s health and rights – both domestically and globally – is abysmal,” said Ipas Executive Vice President Anu Kumar. “The Global Gag Rule alone is a terrible policy that leads to more unwanted pregnancies, more unsafe abortions and more deaths and injuries of women and girls. While we would love to see this administration change course, we would be very surprised if it did.”

At the San Juan meeting, the United States issued an “explanation of position” that reiterated the administration’s political agenda to restrict access to reproductive health information and services, and interfere with individuals’ personal, private decisions about their own health.

For more information, contact:
Kirsten Sherk
Senior Associate, Media Relations
e-mail: sherkk@ipas.org
phone: 919.960.5612
fax: 919.929.0258