
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 12, 1995                   TAG: 9509120068
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: BEIJING                                LENGTH: Medium

WOMEN CONCUR ON SEX EDUCATION

Toppling one of the last remaining hurdles at the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women, delegates Monday struck a careful balance between the right of young people to have access to sex education and contraception and the right of their parents to know about it.

After 16 hours of debate, a subcommittee accommodated representatives of predominantly Roman Catholic and Muslim countries, who believe that sex education encourages premarital sex and sexually transmitted diseases, and others who insist that lack of education puts youths more at risk.

``It's a good compromise, because it balances the desire of parents to have a strong role and acknowledges disparate cultural traditions while protecting young people's right to confidential services,'' said Ruth Archibald, a Canadian delegate who headed the group's debate.

Delegates from Africa, worried about the rapid spread of AIDS among young people there, were instrumental in creating consensus.

``Half of those exposed to the HIV virus are under 25,'' said conference Secretary General Gertrude Mongella of Tanzania. ``I feel saddened by the despair of African youth over their economic future and by the horrifying specter of HIV and AIDS, with the young most at risk,'' she said in a speech Monday commemorating International Youth Day.

The issue of parental rights was expected to be a major sticking point at the conference as discussions stretched out over five days. But Egyptian delegate Merwat Tallawy, chairwoman of the main subcommittee on health issues, brought discussion to a close on Monday evening with a bang of her gavel.

``Accepted,'' she said, to cheers from most of the delegates.

But agreement on the text was not unanimous. Several groups criticized the decision as an erosion of parental authority and family structure, and they warned they may express ``reservations'' in the final plenary to show their disagreement.

``We won't give up [objecting to] anything destructive to the family as an institution,'' said Sudanese delegate Abdelrahim Eltilib, ``including parental rights over their kids.''

The subcommittee's language will go into the draft Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the document that delegates will take home to their governments to help guide the improvement of women's status.

The final document still has to be approved this week by the conference's main committee, and until then, warned a Vatican representative, the issues can be reopened for debate.

``It's a very technical moment of the conference,'' said Joaquin Navarro-Valls, part of the Holy See's delegation, who was displeased by Monday's consensus. ``It is still open to discussion.''

by CNB