§ Mr. AltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to his answer of 1 July,Official Report, column 578, what steps he has taken to ensure that grants given to the International Planned Parenthood Federation and the United Nations Population Fund do not result in the encouragement of forced abortion or sterilisation in (a) China and (b) Tibet.
§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd[holding answer 13 July 1992]: Neither the UNFPA nor the IPPF nor the British Government support population activities in which there is any element of coercion of individuals to practise family planning, or to accept any particular type of contraception. The UNFPA and IPPF provide no support for forced abortion or sterilisation in China or Tibet. It is the established policy of both agencies that their programmes fully accord with the human rights principles set out in the world population plan of action, that
population policies should be consistent with internationally and nationally recognised human rights, and that all couples and individuals have the basic right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information, education and means to do so".The ODA is an active member of UNFPA's governing council and participates fully in the IPPF's annual donors meeting. These fora enable donors to examine closely the policies and activities of both organisations. Through such bodies and regular contacts with UNFPA and IPPF officials, the ODA and other donors satisfy themselves that the UNFPA and IPPF continue to maintain the principles of the world population plan of action.