The United States, China, and the United Nations Population Fund: Dynamics of US Policymaking

Retreating from the leadership role it had assumed since the 1960s in multilateral cooperation in the population field the US government in 1985 suspended support to the United Nations Population Funded (UNFPA). US actions taken on the grounds that UNFPA is assisting a coercive population program in China have provoked domestic controversy among groups who differ sharply over the ethical questions involved as well as over questions of fact. Opponents of UNFPA funding mainly drawn from the New Right have prevailed thus far aided by an effective appeal to human rights norms and relevant policy precedents and by a favorable institutional setting. (Authors) (summaries in ENG FRE SPA).