The planned destruction of more than US $9.7 million worth of contraceptives has to be halted immediately

Written declaration No. 824 | Doc. 16276 | 01 October 2025

Signatories:

Ms Franziska KERSTEN, Germany, SOC ; Ms Petra BAYR, Austria, SOC ; Baroness Lyn BROWN, United Kingdom, SOC ; Baroness Shami CHAKRABARTI, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Cat ECCLES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Andrea EDER-GITSCHTHALER, Austria, EPP/CD ; Ms Aurora FLORIDIA, Italy, SOC ; Ms Béatrice FRESKO-ROLFO, Monaco, ALDE ; Ms Gabriela HEINRICH, Germany, SOC ; Baroness Ruth HUNT, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Kristina IKIĆ BANIČEK, Croatia, SOC ; Ms Leigh INGHAM, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Bisera KOSTADINOVSKA-STOJCHEVSKA, North Macedonia, SOC ; Ms Miapetra KUMPULA-NATRI, Finland, SOC ; Mr Christophe LACROIX, Belgium, SOC ; Mr James MacCLEARY, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Ms Luz MARTINEZ SEIJO, Spain, SOC ; Ms Mariia MEZENTSEVA-FEDORENKO, Ukraine, EPP/CD ; Ms Wanda NOWICKA, Poland, SOC ; Ms Kate OSBORNE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Filiz POLAT, Germany, SOC ; Ms Agnes Sirkka PRAMMER, Austria, SOC ; Ms Sandra REGOL, France, SOC ; Ms Azadeh ROJHAN, Sweden, SOC ; Ms Dunja SIMONOVIĆ BRATIĆ, Serbia, SOC ; Mr Georgios STAMATIS, Greece, EPP/CD ; Ms Derya TÜRK-NACHBAUR, Germany, SOC ; Ms Sandra ZAMPA, Italy, SOC

This written declaration does not reflect the position of the Assembly; only of those members that have signed it. It will not be considered further by the Assembly.

We, the undersigned, declare the following:

We express deep concern regarding the planned destruction of more than US $9.7 million worth of contraceptives funded by the Government of the United States of America.

These commodities, including pills, implants, and injectables, are not expired and were requested by African Governments to address urgent public health priorities. 77 % were designated for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Mali, Tanzania, and Zambia, all of which face severe humanitarian challenges.

Their destruction would represent a serious waste of public resources, undermine national sovereignty, and deny women and families the right to access essential health services. Credible international partners have offered to receive and distribute these supplies, yet such alternatives have been ignored. Belgium has expressed concern about being forced to store these commodities, while France has rejected any role in their destruction.

We therefore invite the Parliamentary Assembly to urge that the destruction be halted immediately and that the contraceptives be delivered without delay to the countries and communities that clearly need them.