CORPUS CHRISTI WEEKEND ISSUE
June 23-25, 2000
volume 11, no. 112


NEWS for Friday-Saturday-Sunday, June 23-25, 2000
UN POPULATION CHIEF ANGRY AFTER WOMEN'S CONFERENCE

NEW YORK (CWNews.com)

    The director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) reportedly wept in anger before delivering a speech to the UN General Assembly at the end of the Beijing+5 review of a women's conference on June 9, according to the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-fam).

    A UN delegate told C-fam Sadik wept as she angrily edited her statement concerning the Beijing+5 review after pro-family groups, including the Vatican, Muslim and Catholic countries, prevented feminist groups from enshrining "reproductive and sexual rights" as UN policy.

    "I had hoped to deliver a different sort of statement today, pointing out all the progress that has been made by women and on behalf of women since we met five years ago in Beijing," Sadik told the session. "I had hoped to be able to join in congratulating all the participants in this process for your work to consolidate the movement towards equality and justice for all the world's people. Unfortunately, it seems that this Special Session is still unable to agree on language concerning some of the most basic human rights as they affect women."

    Sadik also accused opponents of wanting "death, disease, and suffering" for women and girls by denying them access to legalized abortion. Sadik said she had wanted to include a provision that would have required medical personnel to learn how to perform abortions even if it violated their consciences. The proposal was defeated.

    C-fam said Sadik's anger may have been due to the fact that she is soon to leave the UN and had hoped pro-abortion gains at Beijing+5 would have been her legacy.

      We encourage you to check the Catholic World News site at the CWN home page and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and the Dossiers, features and Daily Dispatches from ZENIT International News Agency CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC, but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.


Return to Front Page of Current Issue