Via The NY Transfer News Service 718-448-2358, 718-448-2683
 Subject: Pope's Campaign Against the Earth
 
  2:11 pm May 20, 1992 by web:unactor in cdp:en.unced.general
 
  Mother Nature: Handmaid of the Pope?
 
   At UNCED in Rio the world's politicians will fail to agree to curb man's
dominance and consumption of nature as long as democracy is absent from the
UN. So world population hits 6 billion in 1998, two years ahead of schedule,
and in two and a half years another USA. By the year 2000 ten of the 12
largest cities will be in the third world, with infrastructures a la
Guadalajara. The status quo means world population of 28 billion in 2150, in
your child's lifetime.
 
   As long as UNCED resolutions require unanimous approval, the Holy See
(Vatican) will try to neutralize any call for action on population control.
The Vatican has exercised its veto power to delete any reference to population
contraception and to alter the UNCED documents by adding clauses which render
statements neutral. The G77 countries, namely Argentina and the Philippines,
assisted.
 
   These countries have the highest total fertility rates as well as the
lowest status for females in their Catholic, or African, or Islamic societies.
 
   At Prepcom IV the Population document (L68,clauses 91,92) had the following
clause appended to the statement that all couples should have the right to
decide freely on the number and spacing of their children: " in keeping with
their freedom, dignity, and personally held values," to which the G77 appended
"taking into account ethical and cultural considerations.."
 
   These two clauses were also added to the Women's document (L72,clause 8e)
regarding the responsible planning of family size.
 
   During debate on the Oceans document (L25) the Vatican tried to delete all
references to women. In clause 16 "fishermen and women" temporarily became
"fisherfolk and youth among others" and now stands as "fisherfolk, women and
youth among others." In clause 98b "women and indigenous people" temporarily
became "local communitiies, small-scale fisherworkers, and indigenous
people" and now stands as "local communities, small-scale fisherworkers, women
and indigenous peoples."
 
   To complete the above circus the US refused on March 12/92 to allow
discussion of limits to wasteful consumption patterns in the wealthy countries
even if the G77 agreed to discuss population.
 
   On March 14/92 Warren Hearne of the University of Colorado School of Public
Health Policy said that two percent of the USA's defence budget could provide
every woman in the world with contraception.
 
   What about Brazil's failure at birth control? Their plan to make Rio's more
than 100,000 street children invisible during UNCED is well underway, with the
police killing or temporarily warehousing them en masse with no reform or
training programmes. There are approximately 8 million street-kids in Brazil.
Even the middle class is not immune to random police killings. Regina Gordilho
extended her protest of her son's murder at police hands into a successful
election campaign and became the President of Rio de Janeiro city council from
January 1989 to October 1989 firing 400 staff in the process. She is now a
Senator working for the rights of street children.
 
  Sources:
 
  The Killing of Children and Adolescents in Brazil,REVISTA/CEAP Centre for
the Mobilization of Marginalized Populations Rua da Lapa, conj. 809 Centro,
Rio de Janeiro, BRASIL CEP 20021 (Tel. (021) 224-6771)
 
  Childhope Rua do Russell 450 Sala 502 Gloria 22210 Rio de Janeiro, BRASIL
(Tel. (5521) 285-3038)
 
  Street Kids International 56 The Esplanade Toronto, Ontario, CANADA
(Tel.(416) 861-1816 Peter Dalglish)
 
  The world's scientists may agree on limits to man's dominance and
consumption of nature, but don't expect agreement from politicians who can't
see the forest for the trees. In the absence of democracy UNCED seeks either
unanimity or the status quo. What the global predictions on population and
climate change are doing is hastening the day that scientists find the courage
to enter politics. And so the pompous politicians flock to Rio, lemmings in
limos, Brian Mulroney on his American Express.