Top UNFPA Official May Have Lied to Drafters of Venezuelan Constitution

By Austin Ruse

     (NEW YORK – C-FAM) ¨ Shortly after Hugo Chavez became the new populist president of Venezuela last February, he immediately roiled Venezuelan society by initiating the election of a Constituent Assembly whose sole purpose was to draft a new national constitution.

     ¨ A dangerous tug of war being carried on by the mostly political neophytes of the Assembly, some aspects of the drafting process have recently brought fire from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and a backlash from the Catholic Church.

     ¨ At issue is abortion. Venezuela is one of many Latin American countries that in some way protect the unborn from abortion. Three weeks ago, a drafting committee chaired by the Venezuelan First Lady recommended that, in the new constitution, human life should be "inviolable from the moment of conception," wording even stronger than in the old constitution. This precipitated a strong reaction from powerful feminist non-governmental organizations and also from UNFPA. Moreover, a top UNFPA official appears to have lied to the Constituent Assembly.

     ¨ The influential Caracas newspaper El Nacional reports that Marisela Padron Quero, a Venezuelan national and UNFPA director of Latin America and the Caribbean, told the Assembly that a pro-life plank in the new constitution would violate various international conventions that Venezuela had already signed. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a UN official with experience in the Latin American region called Padron's statement a lie. He said, "Not a single international convention mandates a woman's right to an abortion."

     ¨ Even so, the pro-life line was dropped from the document. The Catholic Church reacted immediately. Archbishop Ignacio Velasco of Caracas ordered sermons against legalized abortion from every pulpit in the country last Sunday. He also said the Church might work actively against passage of the new constitution when it comes up for a vote on December 15. In a letter to Chavez this week, even Pope John Paul II expressed his alarm.

     ¨ Chavez claims to be pro-life, saying in a speech last Saturday, "I am even more radical. I say that life must be protected even before conception." It remains to be seen, however, whether he will side with the Catholic Church or with UNFPA.

     ¨ This is not the first time this UNFPA official has intervened into Venezuelan affairs. It is also suspected that she interfered with the Venezuelan delegation to the recently concluded Cairo+5 conference. Apparently against his governments instructions, the Venezuelan delegate continuously blocked the pro-life consensus in the Group of 77. It is thought he did so at Padron's urging. The Venezuelan government removed him from their Cairo+5 delegation.

     ¨ Regarding her comments, a UN diplomat expressed anger that Padron could "lie with impunity." UNFPA was repeatedly asked this week to name the conventions Padron said would be violated by constitutionally protecting the unborn. UNFPA did not respond.

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