UN: Ireland had contributed over €2.5 million to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and its activities had the strong support of the Government, Minister of State, Mr Tom Kitt said yesterday.
Mr Kitt said that the UNFPA had been accused of supporting coercive measures of family planning but there had been no basis for these allegations.
Speaking at the Irish launch of the World Report on Population by the UNFPA, Mr Kitt said Ireland used its recent EU presidency to highlight the issues, particularly of HIV/AIDS on its own doorstep as well as in sub-Saharan Africa. The fight against HIV/AIDS was directly related to the goals set out 10 years ago for population and development and was a critical factor for the world's population.
"UNFPA is one of our main UN partners and we have contributed over €2.5 million to the fund in 2003 and again in 2004," he said.
As in the case of any other UN body that Ireland funded, they expected a high degree of efficiency and effectiveness from UNFPA in the use of these funds.
"Over the years, the UNFPA has been accused of supporting coercive measures of family planning or of undertaking activities that go beyond its mandate. Repeated investigations have found no basis for these allegations," Mr Kitt said.
He said he was very pleased that the IFPA had been able to arrange visits to the field, for example in Ethiopia, to see the work of the UNFPA. The UNFPA had a difficult mandate. The issues it sought to address touched on such serious sensitivities that controversy and debate were inevitable, he said. He believed that its activities were in strict conformity with the Programme of Action adopted at Cairo 10 years ago.
Mr Kitt said it was his conviction that UNFPA was playing a key role in saving the lives of thousands of women and infants in some of the world's poorest countries. "I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm the strong support of the Government of Ireland for the activities of the fund."
Chairing the launch was Mr Niall Behan, IFPA chief executive, which is the collaborative partner of the UNFPA in Ireland.
He said Irish NGOs and Development Co-Operation Ireland had been extremely active in the battle against HIV/AIDS, but it was crucial that they began to link this global epidemic with the need for improved reproductive health services.
"Fears of criticism from some Church leaders and conservative opposition groups opposed to family planning cannot be allowed to dissuade us from building a strong campaign to strengthen and maintain political commitment and to overcome formidable and sometimes fanatical opponents," Mr Behan said.
Ms Mary Banotti, Ireland's goodwill ambassador to the UNFPA, said it had to be recognised they were facing in issues like this a very serious political problem, particularly in the US.