§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on countries in which advertising campaigns are portraying those who do not use artificial contraception or choose to have large families as irresponsible or anti-social; if he will list those countries in which such campaigns are run:, and if he classifies such campaigns as coercive.
§ Mr. BaldryWe do not have comprehensive information on advertising campaigns in this area.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what measures his Department takes to monitor population policies in countries in which projects connected with population receive funding from his Department.
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§ Mr. BaldryThe Overseas Development Administration, or the relevant multilateral organisations to which it contributes, examine national population policies in the course of the design and management of projects which they fund; they will also seek to contribute, where appropriate, to further development of these policies.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department takes to ensure that projects funded by his Department do not assist coercive population control strategies in countries where the projects are based.
§ Mr. BaldryWe do not support any population activities in which there is coercion of individuals to practise family planning, or to accept any particular type of contraception. We scrutinise proposals prior to funding and monitor their implementation to ensure that coercive approaches are avoided.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has regarding countries which tie education, health and development provision to contraceptive use or offer such provision on beneficial terms to contraceptive users; if he will list those countries where he is aware that this occurs; and whether he classifies such practices as coercive.
§ Mr. BaldryWe do not have detailed information. We believe that the use of contraception should be a matter of free individual choice. Governments were discouraged at the international conference on population and development from either the use of incentives or disincentives in promoting contraception use. We strongly supported this recommendation.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has on projects funded by the core funds of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations fund for population activities and what steps his Department takes to monitor these projects.
§ Mr. BaldryThe United Nations Population Fund 1993 inventory of population projects and the International Planned Parenthood Federation 1994 annual report supplement contain details of these organisations' activities. Copies of both these publications are in the Library of the House.
We regularly assess the policies and programmes of UNFPA and IPPF in relation to our policies.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he classifies as coercive methods taken by countries pursuing population policies, where projects are funded by his Department, to create peer pressure to use artificial contraception.
§ Mr. BaldryWe support activities which help people to be more aware of the choices available to them in family planning. We support the exercise of free individual choice and oppose coercive methods.
§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the will list all grants for population policies and initiatives, given by his Department to projects, agencies or Governments giving in each case the amount of the grant, the terms of the project and the country in which the project is based.
§ Mr. BaldryWe will place in the Library a list of population and reproductive health projects and programmes supported under the aid programme in calendar year 1993.