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For Immediate Release
Date: April 16, 2003
Contact: Trudy W. Schuett
P.O. Box 1252 Yuma AZ 85366 USA
UNICEF: AFRICAN MEN ARE LESS DESERVING OF HUMANITARIAN AID
Groups Call for Censure of Director Carol Bellamy
Yuma AZ -- A recent UNICEF proposal has triggered protests from
human rights organizations around the world. An April 3 UNICEF press
release claimed, "Women and children must be at the centre of response
to Southern Africa's humanitarian crisis."
The UNICEF plan violates Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, which prohibits any form of sex discrimination.
The press release quoted UNICEF director Carol Bellamy, who implied
that African fathers are useless to their families: "Women are the
lifeline of these southern African communities. They put the food on the
table, and they're the ones that keep families going during such
crises."
Gender equity groups around the world, listed at the end of this press
release, are calling on UNICEF director Bellamy to retract and renounce
her proposal. According to Trudy W. Schuett, "If men are ignored
in UNICEF's effort to promote social and economic development, women
will inevitably suffer, as well."
The UN-sponsored Global Burden of Disease Study reported that in
sub-Sahara Africa, men ages 15-60 are at substantially higher risk of
death than women. In Rwanda, civilian men were targeted in the 1990s by
the Rwandan Patriotic Army, resulting in a population that is now 70%
female.
In other African countries, boys who leave their villages to support
their families often become victims of child trafficing. Many boys are
forced to become child soldiers and required to detect landmines.
The UNICEF press release can be read at
Amidst
Iraq war, UNICEF spotlights ongoing crisis in southern Africa
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Supporting Groups:
Australian Men's Health Network
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Additional Information about the Global Health Crisis of Boys, and
UNICEF's Neglect of this Situation:
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Trudy W. Schuett
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