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NEW YORK, February 26, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Dr. Abel Pacheco, President of the Republic of Costa Rica, will receive the Kolbe Prize for Peace in recognition of his leadership at the United Nations in the ongoing debate over human cloning. The prize will be awarded this evening at a black-tie dinner held at the Metropolitan Club in New York City. The evening begins at 8:00 p.m. and will include the reading of a letter from President George W. Bush congratulating President Pacheco for his work that led to him receiving this prestigious award.  “President Pacheco has gathered a coalition of nations, including the United States and a number of EU countries, calling for a comprehensive ban on human cloning,” said Austin Ruse, Chairman of the Kolbe Prize for Peace Nominating Committee, and President of the Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), an UN-based nongovernmental organization hosting the awards dinner. “His initiative is likely to pass the UN General Assembly this fall.”  When informed he would be receiving the 2004 Kolbe Prize for Peace, President Pacheco said, “As a medical doctor, I believe in science, but in science with principles; science within ethical boundaries, with ethical norms that guide the search for knowledge. As a scientist myself, I believe and support fully the development of biotechnology, in so far as it does not violate human dignity.”  More than 200 U.N. Ambassadors, business and political leaders will attend the awards ceremony at which President Pacheco will receive the Kolbe Prize for Peace medal designed by artist Karen Novak.  The Kolbe Prize for Peace is awarded annually to the person who has most advanced the culture of life and the dignity of the human person on the international stage.