The Cairo conference on population and devel , opment starts today It should have been the most important conference for the future of humanity, especially for countries like ours with extremely high population density. But instead it has be come a most controversial event with religious leaders from various faiths declaring their opposition to some sections of its draft report The Vatican has launched a virulent attack on such suggestions as legalised abortion. In a surprising unity of the Christian and Muslim religious lead ers. the latter group has also called for the boy cott of the conference, in our own country, religious groups have condemned the conference. t \nd termed it as a conspiracy against Islam. Some p.-ess reports had these groups claiming that the C& iro Conference was a conspiracy to flood Isla mic countries with the dreaded disease. AIDS. So n inch for an informed debate on the subject of the C airo Conference.

Let us try to understand what the United Natiom1 is trying to achieve through the world conferen ce on population and development. Once every tei ' years the whole world gets together under the UN auspices and plans for a better managemei it of global population. More than anybody else, it is the developing countries that benefited mc'st from the global plan that were prepared and adopted in the earlier conferences. It was due to The earlier conferences that inter national suppor t was mobilised and funds gener ated. bringing e xpertise to the high population growth developin g countries. Let us not forget that Bangladesh it self has been, and continues to be. a substantial beneficiary of the U.N effort at family planning. The success that Bangladesh has achieved is. to a considerable extent, the result of international and UN assistance.

The Cairo Conference is to adopt a 20-year plan of action, with widespread implication for the growth and health of humanity in the 5'ears to come. One important aspect about the UN’ a work that has to be remembered, is that practically nothing is done without consulting the member states. Every step of preparation for a world conference. — like the one that begins today — goes through an elaborate consultation process. Every word of the controversial draft document, went through several preparatory conferences, during which all countries made changes and gave approval. It is absurd to think that delegations of al? Muslim and Christian countries allowed such offending ideas to pass, as has been reported in oar press. The absurdity of the claim became further clear when one realises that the conference is being hosted by a Muslim country, and the UN body which is organising the event — UNFPA — is headed by a Muslim woman from Pakistan.

We believe much of the propaganda against this conference is motivated, and based on selective, out-of-context and biased reading of the preparatory document. The propaganda to boycott the population conference is absurd, and self-defeating for Bangladesh. We regret that Begum Zia felt obliged to cancel her participation, but the reason for it. we understand, is more political, than anything else. We are glad that, at the last moment. PM allowed the health minister to lead our delegation, ignoring the obscurantist posture propagated by the religious right. Bangladesh, we are sure, will work with all countries, to produce a plan of action which will strengthen our democratic. cultural and humanitarian values.