_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Nicaragua_______________
Government accepts UN
policies
Radical shift in national policy
The Nicaraguan government’s human-rights ministry has signed an agreement with
the United Nation’s Population Fund (UNFPA) to promote the “sexual and
reproductive rights”—otherwise known as abortion and artificial contraception—of
women, children, and adolescents. Managua’s La Prensa reported that the
agreement was signed by Nicaraguan human-rights defender Benjamin Perez Fonseca
and by Tomas Jimenez Araya, a UNFPA representative in Nicaragua. As a result of
the agreement, the UNFPA will provide subsidies for government offices dedicated
to the defense of women and children.
The cooperation between some elements of the Nicaraguan government and the UNFPA is startling, considering the past strong pro-life stand of the country, and the enshrinement of a pro-life stance in the nation’s constitution. However, there had been signs that the pro-life stance of the Nicaraguan government was weakening. In July the government’s representatives at the United Nations loosed a volley of criticism on the Catholic Church, saying, “The Church publishes messages reinforcing attitudes and values that make women subordinate to men and discriminate against women.”
Back to Catholic World Report November 2001 Table of Contents