Written Answers. - Foreign Conflicts.
John Gormley
Question:
65
Mr. Gormley
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the UNFPA are engaging in a massive campaign of aggressive sterilisation of Peruvian women since 1996; if the Government funds this programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[3500/01]
The United Nations Population Fund, UNFPA, extends assistance to developing countries at their request to help them address reproductive health and population issues. UNFPA is committed by its mandates to the principles of voluntarism. All of its programmes of assistance throughout the world are based on the principles of freedom of choice and informed consent. Its guiding policy as laid down by its governing council in 1985 stipulates that UNFPA is "not to provide assistance for abortions, abortion services and abortion-related equipment and supplies as a method of family planning".
Allegations concerning coerced sterilizations by the Peruvian authorities led to the formation in August 1997 of an independent investigative commission which included representatives of the women's groups that had reported the abuses. In February 1999, after investigating the charges, the commission, in a statement of consensus, found that reports of a "massive and coercive sterilization programme in Peru" were erroneous and did not reflect the reality of the programme. The Ministry of Health, in an evaluation requested by the commission, had acknowledged that there were cases of Government abuses relating to pro gramme targets, poor quality of services, insufficient counselling to ensure full information and informed choice, and a lack of patient follow-up. The Ministry, with UNFPA's support, is implementing a series of measures to guarantee principles of free and informed choice and to improve quality of care.
Far from supporting forced sterilization in Peru, UNFPA has been instrumental in ensuring that it adheres to the 1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development principles of free and informed consent. Those critical of the UNFPA programme may confuse UNFPA activities with policies or alleged policies pursued by countries such as China and Peru. The assumption sometimes made is that UNFPA, because of its cooperation with government authorities, implicitly endorses the coercive aspects of policies espoused by those authorities. The Department of Foreign Affairs can find no evidence to support this argument.
It is estimated that some half a million women in the developing world die each year due to pregnancy related causes and that 350 million women have no access to any form of contraception. Ireland Aid has been making annual voluntary contributions to UNFPA since 1993. The money provided by Ireland Aid contributes to UNFPA's efforts, saves the lives of thousands of women each year and helps prevent hundreds of thousands of unwanted pregnancies.
Ireland has just completed a three year term on the executive board on UNFPA. We assumed our position on foot of the regular rotation of donor representatives. Through its membership of the board, Ireland was able to participate directly in detailed donor discussions on UNFPA's programmes and be in a position to closely monitor UNFPA's performance. At a session of UNFPA's executive board in New York in 1999, the UNFPA programme in Peru was raised with Ireland's support. Membership of the boards ensures that we have an opportunity to present our views on the operation and performance of the UN agencies and to raise queries on specific issues.
The Department has a sufficient body of information available to it from these sources on which to form an accurate assessment of UNFPA's operations. On the basis of that information, and in the light of specific and repeated assurances from UNFPA, I am satisfied that its operations are conducted in full accordance with the principles of voluntarism.
