Eroding equality
The Bush administration declines to ratify an international treaty on
women, saying the U.N. must first renounce abortion rights.

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By Suzanne Goldenberg



March 1, 2005 | The Bush administration was accused Monday of trying
to roll back efforts to improve the status of the world's women by
demanding that the United Nations publicly renounce abortion rights.
America's demand overshadowed the opening Monday of a conference
intended to mark the 10th anniversary of the Beijing Commission on the
Status of Women, an event seen as a landmark in efforts to promote
global cooperation on women's equality.

The U.S. stand was also widely seen as further evidence of the sweeping
policy change in Washington under the Bush presidency. The last four
years have seen a steady erosion of government support for international
population projects as a result of the administration's opposition to
abortion.

The U.N.'s Commission on the Status of Women had drafted a brief
declaration reaffirming support for the Beijing declaration and calling
for further effort to implement its recommendations. Organizers had
hoped that informal discussions last week would reach a consensus on the
draft, leaving the next fortnight clear for government officials and
women's activists to hold more substantive talks on advancing economic
equality and political participation, and fighting violence against
women. But those hopes were crushed in a closed-door session late last
week when Washington demanded that the declaration reaffirm its support
for the declarations made in Beijing 10 years ago only if "they do not
include the right to abortion," says a copy of the U.S. text obtained by
the Guardian.

"We were not able to conclude informal consultations as we had
originally hoped and planned for," said Beatrice Maille, the vice chair
of the U.N. commission.

The chief of the U.S. delegation, Sichan Siv, went on to tell his
counterparts that Washington opposed the ratification of the
international treaty on women's equality, as well as resolutions that
would "place emphasis on 'rights' that not all member states accept,
such as so-called 'sexual rights.'" Siv also told diplomats that
Washington opposed any move to seek funds from industrialized countries
to implement the reforms called for under the Beijing declaration.

The stand left America almost entirely isolated at the pre-conference
sessions. According to officials who were at the meetings, only the
Vatican observer supported Washington's hard line. There was harsh
criticism of the Bush administration Monday from diplomats and women's
activists.

"This sort of statement is a clear signal to everybody present that the
U.S. does not support the Beijing agreement perspective on the human
rights of women," said Adrienne German, president of the International
Women's Health Coalition. "It clearly demonstrates that this government
has taken a 180-degree reversal from the U.S. government in 1995 and 2000."

Private talks were underway Monday to persuade Washington to reverse its
stand. Although there are expectations that the United States will
eventually relent, several officials accused the U.S. of igniting the
controversy -- and sabotaging the conference -- to try to score points
with Bush supporters on the Christian right.

The Clinton administration was a strong supporter of the Beijing
declaration in 1995, and until President Bush took power in 2001,
Washington was viewed as a leader in international family-planning
efforts. The U.S. government began providing aid to developing countries
in 1965, and its organizations were seen as leaders in population
control. But President Bush has steadily reversed Washington's support
for such initiatives, blocking U.S. funds to the U.N. Population Fund
and diverting cash toward programs promoting abstinence.

A spokesman for the U.S. delegation described the controversy over
Washington's stand on abortion as "motivated." "We just wanted to make
clear what the assumptions were about the Beijing document," said Rick
Grenell, the U.S. spokesman. "We don't believe that it recognizes
abortion as an international human right."