Letter to Secretary Colin L. Powell

July 14, 2004

The Honorable Colin L. Powell
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20520


Dear Secretary Powell:

We are writing to urge you to reinstate U.S. funding for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) by releasing the entire Fiscal Year 2004 funding that was appropriated for UNFPA, in order to comply with the will of Congress. As you know, UNFPA is the world's largest source of reproductive health programs, providing services in over 140 developing countries. This important agency supports universal access to reproductive health care, including family planning services, maternal and infant health services, prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and other vital health care services. Its work is vitally important to women and their families in the poorest countries of the world.

More specifically, UNFPA improves women's reproductive health by providing access to a range of safe and affordable contraceptive methods, prenatal care, attended deliveries, emergency obstetric and post-natal care, and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. It addresses the global pandemic of HIV/AIDS by promoting safer sexual behavior among people, ensuring that condoms are available and widely and correctly used, empowering women to protect themselves and their children, and encouraging men to take responsibility for preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS. UNFPA also promotes gender equality by encouraging legal and policy reforms, supporting gender-sensitive data collection, and backing programs that empower women economically. UNPFA offers programs to assist young people by providing accurate information, counseling and services to prevent unwanted pregnancies and STDs. It also provides assistance during emergencies, such as safe birthing kits during refugee crises, advances sustainable development, and raises awareness about and support for global reproductive health. These are all crucial and laudable goals that the United States government should support.

UNFPA promotes respect for women's human rights by supporting voluntary family planning and reproductive health programs around the world that provide health care services to improve the health and lives of women and their families. These programs help fulfill women's internationally recognized human right to health, particularly reproductive health, and their right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children.

UNFPA receives voluntary contributions made by 110 nations throughout the world. Since 2001, the United States has withheld its yearly contribution to the United Nations Population Fund, holding UNFPA's program in China in violation of Kemp-Kasten. This determination runs counter to the findings of separate delegations from UNFPA, Europe and even the U.S. State Department, which have traveled to China to investigate the allegations. Each of these delegations has concluded that UNFPA is not participating in any coercive activities and has recommended that the United States should continue to provide funding for UNFPA.

In addition, last fall an interfaith delegation of prominent U.S. religious leaders, principals of faith-based organizations, and ethicists undertook a mission to investigate UNFPA's programs in China. This interfaith delegation found that "UNFPA has been and remains a major force and a vital catalyst in achieving China's transition to a fully voluntary and non-coercive family planning program," and recommended that, "U.S. funding for UNFPA should be restored and, if possible, increased."[1] Indeed, they report that in the counties in China where UNFPA works, reversible contraceptives are replacing sterilization and "abortion rates have plummeted, in some cases by a factor of ten."[2]

We urge you to follow the recommendation of these delegations and reinstate U.S. funding for the United Nations Population Program.

Sincerely,



Louise M. Slaughter James Greenwood
Co-Chair, Bipartisan Congressional Co-Chair, Bipartisan Congressional
Pro-Choice Caucus Pro-Choice Caucus

Diana DeGette Nancy Johnson
Co-Chair, Bipartisan Congressional Co-Chair, Bipartisan Congressional
Pro-Choice Caucus Pro-Choice Caucus