UNFPA EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER ALLEGED HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN CHINESE ORPHANAGES
Press Release
POP/601
UNFPA EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER ALLEGED HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN CHINESE ORPHANAGES
19960110 NEW YORK, 10 January (UNFPA) -- The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is deeply concerned about reports in the world media that girl children have been systematically abused and neglected in state orphanages in China.In a statement issued today, the Executive Director of the UNFPA, Dr. Nafis Sadik, said, "The UNFPA, along with other United Nations agencies and organizations strongly supports respect for human rights in whatever context the question may be raised. For UNFPA this concerns especially reproductive rights and health, and respect for the autonomy and equality of women and girls. That is why these reports about girl children are so troubling to us: the charges made in them need to be substantiated."
"In China, UNFPA, together with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), supports the provision of good quality and integrated reproductive and child health-care services for 300 of the poorest and most remote counties. The UNFPA carefully monitors this and all of its projects to ensure adherence to the principles and rights enshrined in the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). Our efforts in China are aimed at demonstrating that policy goals can be achieved in a completely voluntary manner", she continued.
"The status of girls and women is a matter of concern in all countries. This was made very clear by the ICPD in 1994 and the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. Both conferences responded forcefully to the existence of prejudice against girl children in many countries. At both conferences the entire international community gave its strongest support to the concept that both boy and girl children, both women and men should have equal rights, and that there must be complete freedom of choice in the question of family size and spacing. These are principles which UNFPA has always supported and continues to support through advocacy worldwide", she said.
The UNFPA is asking the Chinese authorities for clarification of the issues raised.
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