Irish Funding
Irish government funding for UNFPA
Taxpayer's fund
Shouldn't ALL taxpayer's funds go to genuine, authentic overseas development aid?
Providing millions of women worldwide with authentic maternal healthcare, clean water or proper housing - who would not support that? However, would you want to fund an organisation that has publicly praised, advocated and funded a Chinese population programme that has included forced abortions and sterilisations over a 25 year span? Or an organisation that targets refugee camps with abortion devices and drugs?
The Irish government has funded UNFPA by £350,000 in 1999 (Dept. of Foreign Affairs, 19 Nov 1999.) When questioned about this by members of the General Public, the Dept. of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly reiterated the typical UNFPA public relations line that the UNFPA does not: 'provide assistance for abortions, abortion services and abortion-related equipment' (Letters 21 July 99, 9 Sept 99, 7 Oct 99). The Irish Government had pledged £4.45 million of Irish taxpayers money to UNFPA over the following three years (2000 - 2003)
It was reported in the Evening Echo, 2nd June 2006, that then Minister of State for Development Co-operation and Human Rights, Conor Lenihan, was contributing €3m to UNFPA that year.
In February 2008 Mr. Michael Kitt, T.D, Minister for State for Overseas Development announced Irish Aid funding of €3 million to programmes targeting maternal mortality and reproductive health in developing countries. He said: "Ireland is proud to be one of the first countries to contribute to the new UNFPA trust fund for maternal health."
In 1993, Ireland made its first contribution to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and in 2001 contributed $600,000 (in U.S. dollar equivalents), up from $400,000 last year.(Tony O'Brien, IFPA, briefing Congressional Staff, Capital Hill, Washington DC on April 27th 2000)
Increased Irish funding for UNFPA
More disturbing is the fact that Ireland Aid, who administers Ireland's governmental aid to developing countries neglected to tell the Irish public and it was necessary to find out this information on the UNFPA web-site. The UNFPA has an appalling human rights record.
For example, it has been involved in China's population control programme since 1979, the same year the brutal Chinese One Child policy was introduced. This announcement of increased funding is particularly horrific in light of the fact that recently the Irish Mirror highlighted in graphic detail the consequences of the inhumane Chinese One Child policy. The government should independently investigate and verify UNFPA's activities before using taxpayers' money to fund it.
Irish TD's campaign for funding UNFPA
July 2003, Fianna Fail TD Sean Power, Senator Mary Henry, Labour Party TD Jan O" Sullivan, Fiona O" Malley TD, Fine Gael MEP and Goodwill Ambassador to the UNFPA Mary Banotti and Fine Gael TD Simon Coveney during a Irish Family Planning Association launch (IFPA) with Mary Banotti of '34 Million Friends' campaign at Gailearai Bia, Dublin. The campaign was a grassroots fundraising movement aimed at providing support for the United Nations Population Fund following the withdrawal of US funding for the agency last year in 2002.