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Ambassador Sichan Siv
United States Representative on the UN Economic and Social Council
Statement in Explanation of Position at the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Children following Adoption of the Outcome Document
May 10, 2002


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USUN PRESS RELEASE # 70 (02)
May 15, 2002

Statement in Explanation of Position by Ambassador Sichan Siv, United States Representative on the United Nations Economic and Social Council, at the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Children, following Adoption of the Outcome Document, May 10, 2002

Mr. President,

On behalf of the United States delegation, I would like to thank you for this immensely successful Special Session on Children.

We salute the tireless work of Ambassadors Patricia Durrant of Jamaica, Hanns Schumacher of Germany, and Iftekhar Chowdhury and Anwarul Chowdhury of Bangladesh.  Their outstanding leadership made possible a strong consensus outcome document.  This will serve as an agenda for action on behalf of children in the coming years.  We express our appreciation to Carol Bellamy and UNICEF for putting together this extraordinary event.

The Special Session will mean greater hope for children around the world.  The United States reaffirms its commitment to work for their well-being everywhere, recognizing that children are best nurtured in a stable, loving family environment.

We wish to place an explanation of position in the official record of this Special Session. 

  1. Concerning references in the document to UN conferences and summits and their five year reviews, the United States does not understand any endorsement of these conferences to be interpreted as promoting abortion.
     

  2. The United States understands the terms “basic social services, such as education, nutrition, health care, including sexual and reproductive health,” “quality health care services,” “reproductive health care,” “family planning,” or “family planning services,” “sexual health needs,”  “sexual health,” and “safe motherhood,” in the document to in no way include abortion or abortion-related services or the use of abortifacients.  The United States does not include the treatment of injuries or illnesses caused by illegal or legal abortion for example post-abortion care, among abortion-related services.
     

  3. The United States fully supports the principle of voluntary choice in family planning and reiterates that in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning, and that women who have had recourse to abortion should in all cases have humane treatment and counseling provided for them. The United States emphasizes its commitment to programs that address greater male involvement in pregnancy prevention and voluntary family planning efforts and the need to stress the practices of abstinence, of delaying sexual initiation, monogamy, fidelity, and partner reduction in order to, inter alia, prevent HIV infection.
     

  4. The United States stresses the importance it attaches to universal access to primary and secondary education, particularly for girls, as an essential and integral part of women’s sustainable socio-economic development.
     

  5. The United States reaffirms that “The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State” (Universal Declaration on Human Rights); and that “The right of men and women of marriageable age to marry and to found a family shall be recognized,” (International Covenant on Political and Civil Rights, Art. 23, 1-2); and that “Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance” (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 25.2).   It stresses the need to further address the importance of family stability, the role of fathers, and parent-child communication on responsible sexual behavior, especially abstinence, and delaying sexual initiation.  With regard to the phrase “various forms of the family exist,” the United States understands this to include single parent and extended families.  It reaffirms that governments can support families by promoting policies that help strengthen the institution of marriage and help parents rear their children in positive and healthy environments.
     

  6. The United States understands that “children’s rights” are seen at all times in relation to the rights, duties and responsibilities of parents, who have the primary responsibility for their children’s education and well-being.   In this regard, the United States emphasizes the importance it attaches to the involvement of parents in decisions affecting children and adolescents in all aspects of sexual and reproductive health and in all aspects of their lives and education for which they have the primary responsibility.
     

Thank you, Mr. President. 

 

 

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