WASHINGTON - June 22 - WHAT: Press Conference to launch Global Implications of US Domestic and International Policies on Sexuality, the report from the International Working Group on Sexuality and Social Policy being released on the opening day of a meeting of world governments in San Juan, Puerto.

WHY: The report identifies and analyzes the Bush Administration’s policies and actions regarding sexuality, at home and abroad. It highlights the international implications of these policies for policymakers, advocates and service providers in other countries, whether at the national and local level or within the UN system.

The report has special significance as governments gather on U.S. territory for the 30th Session of the Economic Commission of Latin America and the Caribbean (28 June to 2 July). The ECLAC meeting marks the 10th anniversary of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and will evaluate progress in Latin America and the Caribbean on implementing the Cairo Programme of Action. Speakers at the press conference will discuss the need for a positive approach to sexual and reproductive health and rights in order to implement the Cairo Programme of Action and the UN’s Millennium Development Goals: to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment; to improve maternal and infant health; and, to combat HIV/AIDS.

WHO: The International Working Group on Sexuality and Social Policy (IWGSSP) is composed of researchers and activists from a range of countries and regions of the world and contributes to sexuality-related global policy debates through strategic policy-oriented research and analysis. Members of the IWGSSP speaking at the press conference will include:

Richard Parker, Co-chair of IWGSSP, Professor and Chair, Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York

David Satcher, Director, National Center for Primary Care at Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia and former Surgeon General of the United States

Sonia Correa, Co-chair of IWGSSP, Founder SOS-Corpo Genero E Cidadania; Coordinator for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women in a New Era), and Research Associate at ABIA (Brazilian Association for the Interdisciplinary Study of AIDS), Brazil

Gloria Careaga, Social Psychologist, Psychology Faculty, National Autonomous University and Academic Secretary, Gender Studies Program, Mexico

Rosalind Petchesky, Distinguished Professor of Political Science, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York

WHEN: Monday, June 28 at 8:30 AM

WHERE: Caribe Hilton, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Los Rosales Street, San Geronimo Grounds, Main Building—2nd Floor, Conference Room Flamingo A

###