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China, India and Canada Kill UN Resolution Against Sex Selected Abortions

US-sponsored resolution called on states to eliminate prenatal sex selection and female infanticide

By Samantha Singson

(NEW YORK — C-FAM) Despite a groundswell of support from the NGO community and many country delegations at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) this week, the US-sponsored resolution calling on states to eliminate prenatal sex selection and female infanticide has been withdrawn due to pressure from China, India, Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico and others.

China lobbied against the resolution at the highest levels of UN delegations. The Indian delegation likewise lobbied forcefully against it. It is likely that India and China objected because, even though the resolution focused on the global nature of the problem, they believed it would draw attention to the fact that theirs are the worst cases of female infanticide and sex selected abortion. Demographers estimate that about 100 million girls are already “missing”.

Other delegations also worked to derail the resolution by maneuver, thus avoiding discussion about the rising trend of killing baby girls and the substance of the resolution. Canada worked against the resolution by loading up the draft document with language that the US could not support. Costa Rica did the same, although it is unclear why the pro-life country worked so hard to oppose the initiative, or why Mexico chose to oppose it.

The EU announced on Monday that it had reached a collective European decision to oppose the resolution. They argued that in order to streamline the CSW process, it would be better to simply add the language to the final outcome document. A European NGO told the Friday Fax that in their meetings with EU officials they were briefed that some European states objected to the sex selection resolution because they opposed condemning any abortions. But the EU said it would support the US language in the outcome document. Pro-life groups following the negotiations late into the night on Wednesday say that the EU has so far made good on its promise.

South Korea, one of the countries that has experienced alarming demographic imbalance, has been the only country to successfully reverse the trend after launching “Love Your Daughter” awareness campaigns.  Of all the countries in which “son preference” is high, South Korea was the only country that stepped up to co-sponsor the resolution.

In sharp contrast to the official delegations, NGOs from across the political spectrum discussed the problem at length during the two-week meeting, universally condemning it. Several scholars and practitioners showed evidence that sex selection is increasingly linked to organized crime, rape, kidnapping, and trafficking of women and girls. The Holy See circulated a non-paper noting that, “Despite its importance, the Commission on the Status of Women has remained silent on prenatal sex selection, infanticide and son preference.  The time has come for the Commission on the Status of Women to break the silence on these important issues.”

 The CSW chairman announced last night that negotiations may go round the clock tonight. The meeting is scheduled to conclude on Friday evening. 

See related LifeSiteNews.com stories re: Canada at the UN under the Conservatives: 

Under New Conservative Government Canada Still Obsessed With Abortion and Homosexuality at UN
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/apr/06040512.html

Conservative Government Continuing Pro-Abortion Extremism at United Nations
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/aug/06082503.html

Canadian UN Representative Slams Muslim Nations for Opposing Gay Activist Groups
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/07020603.html

Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations - Feb. 2007
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/feb/070206a.html

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