July 19, 1999
Volume 1/ Number 10
Dear Friend and Colleague:
The US Congress is considering refunding the UNFPA. A recent UN report confirming the dire threat of underpopulation suggests that pouring more funds into population control would be a mistake. Moreover, by UNFPA’s own admission, Chinese officials will impose ‘social compensation fees’ on parents who violate the one-child policy in the 32 counties in which it will operating. The Tiahrt Amendment forbids any US funds from going to any program, such as the UNFPA, which imposes fines or sanctions on people who choose not to follow state-run “family planning” programs.
Steven W. Mosher
President
UN Report Undercuts Attempt to Restore UNFPAFunding
“Social compensation fee” in 32 Chinese Counties Violates US Law
The Population Research Institute (PRI) today confirmed alarming inconsistencies between the congressional initiative to restore $25 million in US funds for the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and a 29 June 1999 report issued by the UN Population Division’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). The UN report predicts dire underpopulation problems, caused primarily by aging populations worldwide. “[O]ne out of every 10 persons [in the world] is now aged 60 years or older,” the report states. “By 2050, the United Nations projects that 1 person of every 5 will be aged 60 years or older. By 2150, 1 in every 3.”
“The looming underpopulation crisis means that the UNFPA’s “family planning” and population control programs in the developing world are not only outdated, but actually harmful,” said PRI President Steven W. Mosher. “Moreover, the UNFPA’s involvement in China’s coercive population control campaign should render it ineligible to receive US funds.”
The congressional initiative to restore UNFPA funding is premised on the claim that the 32 Chinese counties in which the UNFPA will be operating will be exempt from China’s one-child policy. However, Nafis Sadik, as Executive Director of UNFPA, admitted that parents in those counties will “still be subject to a ‘social compensation fee’ if they decide to have more children that [sic] is recommended by policy.”
“What UNFPA has admitted is that Chinese citizens in these counties who violate the one-child policy will be punished by fines,” Mosher added. “Using fines or other sanctions to enforce a family planning program is a violation of the Tiahrt Amendment.”
The Tiahrt Amendment, which became law last October, forbids US funds from going to any country or program that denies rights or benefits to citizens as the result of their choice not to participate in a program. “China’s one-child policy violates virtually all of the provisions of the House resolution,” said Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-KS). “The UNFPA’s involvement should render it ineligible for US funds.”
