Clash of Wills in Cairo

By Christine Gorman

It was supposed to be a landmark meeting -- a harmonious gathering of nations to establish the principle that the key to curbing population growth lies in giving women more control over their own health and reproduction. Instead the International Conference on Population and Development, being held in Cairo this week, was in danger of falling apart before it even got started. An unusual convergence of interests between Roman Catholic and Muslim leaders put the organizers of the United Nations-sponsored conference on the defensive around the flash points of abortion and sex education for teens. At least two Prime Ministers from Islamic countries decided, at the last minute, not to attend, and four Middle Eastern nations announced they were boycotting the affair entirely. At the same time, the Vatican made a highly unusual personal attack on the leader of the U.S. delegation, Vice President Al Gore, for his government's prominent role in setting the agenda.

The goal of the conference is to reach general agreement on how to control the world's population, which is 5.7 billion and headed toward a disastrous 10 billion by the year 2050. Many issues are not in dispute; in fact, more than 90% of a draft document has been agreed on by representatives of 180 U.N. member countries. But the remaining 10% contains some bombshells. One proposal calls for extending contraceptive services directly to adolescents. Equally controversial is language urging governments to protect the millions of women who die each year from unsafe abortions.

Such notions stirred not only predictable opposition from the Vatican but also an uproar in the Islamic world, where abortion is generally forbidden. Belatedly, conference supporters tried to fend off a Muslim boycott. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak called his old friend King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, who was meeting with the Council of Ulama, his nation's highest body of religious authorities. But Mubarak's effort was futile. On the following day, the council condemned the Cairo conference as a "ferocious assault on Islamic society" and forbade Muslims from attending. Sudan, Lebanon and Iraq then joined Saudi Arabia in announcing that they would send no delegates to Cairo.

Soon after, the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, Najmuddin Sheikh, phoned Dr. Nafis Sadik, executive director of the U.N. Population Fund and one of the conference's main organizers. The Pakistani official had bad news: concerned about opposition at home, Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was reconsidering her decision to attend the conference. Sadik knew that Bhutto's absence could be especially damaging. Not only was she to deliver a keynote speech, but she would also be the only female head of a Muslim country in attendance. Prime Ministers Tansu Ciller of Turkey and Begum Khaleda Zia of Bangladesh had both backed out, although their countries were still sending delegations. Herself a Pakistani Muslim, Sadik reassured Bhutto's Foreign Secretary that "all opposing views would be discussed" at the conference. At week's end Islamabad reaffirmed Bhutto's commitment to be in Cairo.

But then came another blow: President Suharto of Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation, would not show up. "He fell ill" was the only explanation a conference spokesman gave.

While some Muslim leaders were dropping out, the Vatican's strategy was to have a strong vocal presence at the conference. Last week the Pope's chief spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, accused Vice President Gore of misrepresenting the U.S. position on abortion. Referring to a recent speech in which Gore stated that "the U.S. has not sought, does not seek and will not seek to establish any international right to abortion," Navarro-Valls said, "The draft document, which has the United States as its principal sponsor, contradicts, in reality, Mr. Gore's statement." To bolster his claim, Navarro-Valls cited a U.N. proposal that women "have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of fertility regulation." That language, he contended, was meant to include the right to abortion.

Sadik, meanwhile, counterattacked. "There is so much misinformation going around that it generates its own momentum," she said. "I don't think the conference opponents have even read the draft document." Egyptian Population Minister Dr. Maher Mahran was more emphatic. "We all live in one boat," he told a gathering of Arab organizations just prior to the conference. "No country can withdraw, set itself aside, and those who do this are defeatists." At least one prominent conservative Egyptian religious leader defended the meeting, assuring Muslims that Mubarak had promised the U.N. document would not impose rules contravening Islamic teaching.

Increasing the tension level were fears that dissent could turn into violence. Islamic fundamentalists who are seeking to overthrow Mubarak warned delegates not to come to Cairo. In response, the government deployed a 14,000- strong police force with the sole assignment of protecting the expected 20,000 conference participants. But no one could guarantee peace in the streets -- or any kind of meaningful consensus inside the meeting hall.

With reporting by Greg Burke/Rome and Lara Marlowe/Beirut