Posted on 11/16/2001 1:18:02 PM PST by victim soul
We report today on a manual to be used for refugee workers in emergency situations. This document has been in the field for three years and informs the work of refugee workers from Kosovo throughout Africa, in Afganistan, everywhere.
Problem is, it promotes the use of abortifacient pills and the manual vacuum aspirator that can be used to perform abortions in refugee tents.
This document was prepared by UNFPA, UNICEF and was even supported by the Girl Scouts.
VATICAN CRITICIZES THREE-YEAR OLD UN REFUGEE MANUAL
Volume 4, Number 47
The Vatican last week strongly condemned a three-year-old UN field manual on refugees for promoting "anti-values that offend the dignity of the poorest and most vulnerable populations." According to the Vatican, "Reproductive Health in Refugee Situations: An Inter Agency Field Manual," promotes contraception, abortion and irresponsible sexual behavior.
The Holy See Mission to the UN first objected to the manual when it was in the drafting stage in 1997. One of their objections at the time was that the Rwandan refugee crisis involved thousands being killed by machetes and in desperate need of basics like water, yet this UN manual dealt mostly with non-essentials like abortifacient emergency contraception. It took another four years for the Vatican to issue its condemnation.
The manual, released in 1999 by the UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNCHR) in collaboration with other UN agencies and non-governmental organizations, calls for the unrestricted use of the morning after pill, which it describes as an "emergency contraceptive" and which the Vatican deems an abortifacient, since it stops a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. The manual also promotes sterilization as a form of contraception. The Vatican asserts sterilization is "a radical suppression of the procreative function," a procedure often performed without informed consent or knowledge of long-term health consequences.
The Vatican voiced concern over the message imparted to youth: "Rather than being educated for real love, within the prospect of marriage and a future family, these boys and girls are introduced into the world of individualistic and irresponsible sexual pleasure, which increases the risk of extending the HIV/AIDS epidemic." The manual suggests that peer counselors - other children - promote contraceptive use, without parental consent.
According to the Vatican, the manual "accepts the separation between sexuality and procreation through the promotion of a 'nonjudgmental' attitude on extramarital as well as homosexual relations." For example, the manual asserts that "Adolescent boys engaging in homosexual intercourse should be taught how to prevent STDs/HIV. However.messages related to STDs should not label this behavior in a way that may stigmatise the boy (e.g., as homosexual), but should refer to the behaviour as 'men having sex with men' or 'same-gender sex.'"
Kris Janowski, a spokesman for UNHCR, denied the Vatican's charges, claiming, "We are not advocating the morning-after pill. We are not advocating contraception as such. Basically we are telling our people in the field they need to give options to those exposed to rape and AIDS. We cannot impose a moral solution." Janowski's denial is contradicted by the fact that an entire chapter labeled "Information, Education, Communication" is devoted to advocacy, and that the manual is replete with injunctions such as "Take every opportunity to raise awareness and promote condoms."
Copyright - C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute). Permission granted for unlimited use. Credit required.
Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute
866 United Nations Plaza, Suite 427
New York, New York 10017
Phone: (212) 754-5948
Fax: (212) 754-9291
E-mail: c-fam@c-fam.org
Website: www.c-fam.org
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.