More than 250 countries, including India, have asked the United Nations to help promote women's right to education, healthcare, reproductive health and family planning, but the Bush administration declined to join the demand, objecting to a reference to 'sexual rights', a term which it says does not have any agreed definition.
The action plan, approved by 179 countries including the United States, said women have the right to make decisions concerning reproduction, free of discrimination, coercion and violence.
Among the signatories were former Indian prime minister, I K Gujral; chairman of the Tata Group, Ratan Tata; media mogul Ted Turner and former American presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
The statement, issued on the tenth anniversary of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development
held in Cairo, was read out by Turner, who heads the UN foundations that contribute funds to the world body's agencies.
A US State Department official declined to elaborate on the objection but it is known that the Bush administration fears the term 'sexual rights' could promote abortion and use of condoms which, it argues, could encourage promiscuity.
Leaders of all 25 European nations, including British Prime Minister Tony Blair, were among those who signed the agreement.
The statement called for reordering of international priorities to bring full funding to the "historic" action plan of ICPD.
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