A/CONF.171/13 English Page 144 Reservation With regard to the Programme of Action of the Cairo International Conference on Population and Development and in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and laws of Ecuador and the norms of international law, the delegation of Ecuador reaffirms, inter alia, the following principles embodied in its Constitution: the inviolability of life, the protection of children from the moment of conception, freedom of conscience and religion, the protection of the family as the fundamental unit of society, responsible paternity, the right of parents to bring up their children and the formulation of population and development plans by the Government in accordance with the principles of respect for sovereignty. Accordingly, the delegation of Ecuador enters a reservation with respect to all terms such as "regulation of fertility", "interruption of pregnancy", "reproductive health", "reproductive rights" and "unwanted children", which in one way or another, within the context of the Programme of Action, could involve abortion. Ecuador also enters a reservation concerning certain unnatural concepts relating to the family, inter alia, which might undermine the principles contained in its Constitution. The Government of Ecuador is willing to collaborate in all activities designed to achieve the common good, although it does not and cannot accept principles which infringe its sovereignty, Constitution and laws. 25. The representative of Egypt submitted the following written statement: We wish to point out that the delegation of Egypt was among those delegations that registered numerous comments on the contents of the Programme of Action with regard to the phrase "couples and individuals". While recognizing that this expression was adopted by consensus at the two previous population conferences of 1974 and 1984, our delegation called for the deletion of the word "individuals" since it has always been our understanding that all the questions dealt with by the Programme of Action in this regard relate to harmonious relations between couples united by the bond of marriage in the context of the concept of the family as the primary cell of society. We should like the report of the Conference to reflect the above. 26. The Government of Guatemala submitted the following written statement: The delegation of Guatemala wishes to offer its thanks to the Egyptian people and authorities and to the organizers of the Conference for their hospitality and for the services provided, for they made it possible for our deliberations about life and humanity"s future development to reach a conclusion which our delegation sincerely hopes will enhance respect for the life and dignity of men and women, especially those of the new /...