A/CONF.171/13 English Page 136 the Holy See, Nicaragua, Belize, Honduras, Malaysia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Chile, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Paraguay, Pakistan, Tuvalu, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Guinea, Turkey, Brunei Darussalam, Zambia, Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. Oral statements and reservations on the Programme of Action 6. At the 13th and 14th plenary meetings, the representatives of a number of countries made statements which they requested the secretariat of the Conference to place on record. Those statements are set out below. 7. The representative of Afghanistan stated the following: The delegation of Afghanistan wishes to express its reservation about the word "individual" in chapter VII and also about those parts that are not in conformity with Islamic Sharia. 8. The representative of Brunei Darussalam stated the following: According to our interpretation, one aspect of reproductive rights and reproductive health, referring specifically to paragraphs 7.3 and 7.47 and subparagraph 13.14 (c) of the Programme of Action, contradicts Islamic law and our national legislation, ethical values and cultural background. My country wishes to place on record its reservation on those paragraphs. 9. The representative of El Salvador stated the following: Recognizing that aspects of the Programme of Action are tremendously positive and are of supreme importance for the future development of mankind, the family and our children, we, as leaders of nations, cannot but express the reservations we feel are appropriate. If we did not, we could not possibly face the questions from our people that are certain to be posed. It is for this reason - recognizing the spirit of the document, to which we have given our consensus and our approval - that we wish to state that there are three basic aspects which we are concerned about. Therefore, in accordance with the rules of procedure of this Conference, we wish to express the following reservations and request that they be included in full in the report of this Conference. We Latin American countries are signatories to the American Convention on Human Rights (Pact of San José). Article 4 thereof states quite clearly that life must be protected from the moment of conception. In addition, because our countries are mainly Christian, we consider that life is given by the Creator and cannot be taken unless there is a reason which justifies it being extinguished. For this reason, as far as Principle 1 of the Programme of Action is concerned, we associate ourselves with the reservation expressed by the delegation of Argentina: we consider that life must be protected from the moment of conception. /...