News

As Israeli and US strikes on oil infrastructure blanketed Tehran in toxic smoke, IPPF is warning of serious, lasting risks to maternal and reproductive health - risks that are now spreading across the region.When oil infrastructure is bombed, fine particulates, soot, sulphur compounds and other toxic pollutants spread through the air, water and soil, creating serious health risks for entire communities. The World Health Organization has already warned that damage to petroleum facilities in Iran risks contaminating food, water and air supplies, with potentially severe consequences, particularly for vulnerable groups.Pregnant women and newborns are among those most at risk. There is no historical parallel for an attack on oil infrastructure of this magnitude in a city of over nine million people. However, a substantial body of research on air pollution and petroleum-related contamination points to the potential consequences for pregnant women.The environmental and public health threat extends well beyond Iran's borders. The head of the International Energy Agency warned this week that at least 40 energy assets across nine countries in the Middle East have sustained severe or critical damage since the outbreak of the war. Yet the reproductive health consequences remain entirely absent from public and political debate. Toxic smoke and the harms to pregnancy  According to the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS), oil fires of this kind generate particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds. Doug Weir, Director of the CEOBS, warns that:"The intensive use of explosive weapons in a densely populated area like Tehran generates a diverse mixture of pollutants, including pulverised building materials, heavy metals, particulate matter and explosives residues. When you include pollution from oil facility fires it is clear that pregnant women are being exposed to a complex mixture of pollutants during a period where stress may also contribute to increased vulnerability to harm."  Four oil facilities in and around the city were struck, including the Tehran refinery, which has the capacity to process 225,000 barrels of oil per day. Tehran's geography makes this exposure particularly acute: the city sits in a semi-enclosed basin surrounded by the Alborz mountains, which trap pollutants within the city boundary rather than dispersing them. Reports have also described ‘black’ rain over Tehran, which can further contaminate water sources, soil and food supplies.These are the same substances that research consistently identifies as potentially harmful to a woman and her foetus during pregnancy. What we are yet to ascertain is the level and length of exposure women in Tehran will be subject to. What the evidence tells us: increased risk of preterm birth, low birth weight and miscarriageMaternal exposure to oil pollution is a significant public health concern, as exposure to air pollutants during critical stages of foetal development may lead to serious long-term adverse pregnancy outcomes¹. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, in its 2023 Global Burden of Disease study, 32% of preterm births in 2023 were attributed to exposure to PM air pollution². A systematic review published in JAMA Network Open reinforces this picture, analysing data from over 32 million births across over 50 studies. The study found that exposure to pollutants, particularly through fine particulate matter, was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth in 79% of studies and low birth weight in 86% of studies.³ A global meta-analysis published in PLOS Medicine, covering 204 countries and territories, found an 11% greater risk of low birth weight and a 12% greater risk of preterm birth for every 10 micrograms per cubic metre increase in exposure to fine particulate matter.⁴In addition to the risk associated with particulate matter, the fires generate neurotoxic compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), formed during incomplete combustion. These compounds cross the placenta, resulting in reduced birthweight, smaller head circumference and longer-term cancer risk and cognitive deficits in offspring. Evidence comes from studies in New York⁵ ⁶, Krakow⁷, and the Gulf War oil fires ⁸ . According to Virginia Rauh, Professor of Population and Family Health at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health:“This multi-layered mixture of pollutants has an immediate adverse impact on fetal growth and longer-term consequences for newborn lungs and brain development, resulting in a devastating public health scenario for reproductive and child health.”Research specifically examining petroleum pollution, points to a wider pattern of reproductive harm. A 2025 systematic review and meta-analysis in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, found possible associations between maternal exposure to oil and gas processes and adverse outcomes including preterm birth and miscarriage.¹⁰ Whilst a prospective cohort study of 1,418 pregnant women in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, found that women in the most exposed communities faced significantly higher rates of premature rupture of membranes, postpartum haemorrhage and caesarean section compared to women in low-exposure areas.¹¹ A health crisis that could last generationsThe research points to a warning that IPPF's Global Humanitarian Director, Valerie Dourdin, says we cannot afford to ignore.“What may be framed politically as a short-term war will not produce only short-term consequences. The effects of destroying oil infrastructure do not end when the fires are extinguished. Contamination lingers in the air, in the water, in soil, and in people’s bodies. The full scale of what is unfolding over Tehran cannot yet be measured. The respiratory hazard is severe, but the evidence gives us real cause to believe this could also become a reproductive health emergency, with devastating consequences for the Iranian people, particularly women and families.”These health risks do not exist in isolation. They are compounded by the conditions of conflict itself. Women and girls in Iran already faced significant barriers to reproductive healthcare, and emergencies deepen those barriers further. In emergencies, sexual and reproductive health is routinely deprioritised. Antenatal and postnatal care is often disrupted or made unavailable. Contraception becomes harder to access, increasing unintended pregnancy and associated risks during pregnancy. Referral pathways for obstetric emergencies break down. Health workers are displaced or unable to reach those who need them, and clear public health guidance on exposure risks may be absent or inaccessible. IPPF calls on all parties, humanitarian actors and public health authorities to act with urgency. Sexual and reproductive health must be recognised as essential from the very outset of any emergency response. This means: Ensuring continuity of maternal and newborn care, including antenatal and postnatal care and emergency obstetric services.Continued and sustained active monitoring of air, water and soil contamination in Tehran must be treated as integral to protecting women's health.Increased public health measures such as awareness and clear guidance to reduce exposure risks to toxic fumes, polluted water bodies and contaminated food for pregnant people and newborns.Continuation of referral pathways and care for survivors of sexual violence and intimate partner violence.Ensuring STI and HIV screening, diagnosis and treatment services are available.Ensuring that women and girls affected by crises can access accurate SRH information, and the resources needed to manage menstruation safely and with dignity.Women's health, dignity and rights must not become collateral damage in the attacks on Iran. The evidence is worrying. Air pollution and petroleum-related contamination can harm pregnancy outcomes and threaten longer-term reproductive health. The political framing of this conflict as short-term does not change what the science tells us about the physical and psychological consequences that may follow. References¹ The associations between air pollution and adverse pregnancy outcomes in China. Tan Y, Yang R, Zhao J, Cao Z, Chen Y, Zhang B. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2017;1017:181–214. doi: 10.1007/978-981-10-5657-4_8.|² https://www.healthdata.org/research-analysis/health-topics/air-pollution³ Bekkar B et al (2020) Association of air pollution and heat exposure with preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirth in the US: a systematic review: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2767260⁴ Ghosh R et al. (2021) Ambient and household PM2.5 pollution and adverse perinatal outcomes: A meta-analysis and estimates of population attributable fractions globally, regionally and nationally. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8478226/⁵ Prenatal exposure to air pollution during the early and middle stages of pregnancy is associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes at ages 1 to 3 years.  Perera F, Miao Y, Ross Z, Rauh V, Margolis A, Hoepner L, Riley KW, Herbstman J, Wang S. Environ Health. 2024 Oct 30;23(1):95. doi: 10.1186/s12940-024-01132-9.PMID: 39478594 .⁶ Prenatal exposure to air pollution is associated with altered brain structure, function, and metabolism in childhood. Peterson BS, Bansal R, Sawardekar S, Nati C, Elgabalawy ER, Hoepner LA, Garcia W, Hao X, Margolis A, Perera F, Rauh V.J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2022 Nov;63(11):1316-1331. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13578. Epub 2022 Feb 14.PMID: 3516589⁷ Prenatal ambient air exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the occurrence of respiratory symptoms over the first year of life. Jedrychowski W, Galas A, Pac A, Flak E, Camman D, Rauh V, Perera F.Eur J Epidemiol. 2005;20(9):775-82. doi: 10.1007/s10654-005-1048-1.PMID: 16170661⁸ 1991 Gulf War exposures and adverse birth outcomes. Arnetz B, Drutchas A, Sokol R, Kruger M, Jamil H.US Army Med Dep J. 2013 Apr-Jun:58-65.PMID: 23584910 ⁹Latifi Z et al. (2025) Association between maternal exposure to oil and gas extraction process with adverse birth outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12884-025-08022-z¹⁰Oghenetega OB et al. (2022) Exposure to oil pollution and maternal outcomes: The Niger Delta prospective cohort study. _https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0263495 

In a moment of overlapping crisis and intensifying backlash around human rights, gender equality and sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice - globally and in the UN - the stakes are high at the 70th session of the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW). Across the globe, women, girls and marginalized communities continue to suffer disproportionately from lack of equality and human rights violations, with immense barriers for their access to justice. At the same time,  governments are cutting funding and scaling back support for basic lifesaving assistance for the most marginalized and vulnerable. Now more than ever, we need concerted action to advance our rights, hold governments accountable for their commitments and strengthen global cooperation.IPPF therefore welcomes the adoption of the Agreed Conclusions on this year’s important priority theme on: Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls.US IsolationWe regret that a small minority group of countries, led by the USA, undermined possibilities for reaching consensus and that the USA called for a vote on the text. However, the voting result speaks clearly for itself: Despite concerted ongoing attacks on human rights and multilateralism, the overwhelming majority of UN Member States - from all regional groups - share a commitment to implementing the Beijing Agenda and achieving gender equality for all women and girls and those facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. In fact, only the USA voted against it.  In this current geopolitical context, the adopted outcome is sending a strong signal about the  importance of the Commission’s mandate and continued global cooperation within the multilateral system.   IPPF particularly welcomes that the adopted Agreed Conclusions include: The commitment to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights. We also welcome the commitment to ensuring sustainable resources to holistic survivor-centered services, including for sexual and reproductive health, as this is of paramount importance in terms of ensuring long-term, multilayered, comprehensive support for survivors.Reaffirmation of the International Conference on Population and Development and its Programme of Action and its follow-up, given the critical complementary and mutually reinforcing nature of the ICPD Programme of Action to the Beijing Platform for Action in ensuring the realization of human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, for all women and girls.Strong language on preventing and responding to sexual and gender-based violence, including GBV that occurs through or is amplified by technology, as the rapid digitalisation and evolution of technologies presents new challenges and requires regulation and safeguards to address, prevent and eliminate violations of rights and gender-based violence perpetrated online.The inclusion of a specific focus on access to justice and reparations in humanitarian, conflict and post-conflict settings, including by strengthening legislation and taking proactive steps to prevent, investigate and prosecute sexual violence in conflict.The reference to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination as a key barrier for access to justice and a major impediment for achieving gender equality.The recognition of the need for safe and enabling environments for civil society engaged in access to justice initiatives for women and girls, including through sustaining access, as appropriate, to core, predictable, flexible and multiyear funding.Key GapsHowever, IPPF is concerned about key gaps in the text that significantly weakens its scope. The removal - due to significant pressure from a group of conservative States -  on  language linking the theme of access to justice and sexual and reproductive health and rights weakens accountability for some of the most prevalent violations that women, girls and marginalized groups are facing. Moreover, the draft omits references to bodily autonomy, which is the normative foundation of any rights‑based approach to access to justice; without it, commitments risk remaining abstract. These omissions are particularly concerning in a global context marked by increased anti‑rights influence, substantial financial pressures on SRHR, and institutional reforms that may affect the UN’s gender equality and human rights architectureIPPF now urges all governments to unite behind this crucial call to action.The true impact of this outcome will be measured by its implementation at the national level. As a locally rooted yet globally connected Federation, IPPF and its Member Associations are uniquely positioned to drive and support the implementation of these commitments across national, regional, and global spheres. By doing so, we can ensure meaningful change in the lives of women, adolescents, girls, and other marginalized communities where it matters most.

The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is delighted to welcome Maria Antonieta Alcalde Castro as she continues her work for sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice (SRHRJ) as IPPF’s next Director-General.Maria Antonieta brings bold, values-driven leadership to IPPF at a critical moment. With more than 30 years of experience in SRHRJ advocacy, UN negotiations, and movement-building, Maria Antonieta brings deep credibility and a global perspective to IPPF’s leadership. A Mexican feminist, she centers community and voice, especially women and young people, with a view to shaping inclusive, responsive health systems. Under Maria Antonieta’s leadership, IPPF will continue to speak out unapologetically, mobilize global solidarity, and advance a future where sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice are protected for all.   “My vision is to strengthen our movement by standing firmly with IPPF Member Associations and frontline providers who everyday deliver essential SRH services. Together, we will continue to build bold community-driven coalitions that confront injustice and reshape the systems of power that sustain oppression and uphold inequality. Through collective leadership and coordinated advocacy, we can defend and advance sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice. This is a moment to reaffirm who we are: a global movement rooted in values, solidarity and the unwavering belief that everyone deserves the freedom to decide over their own lives.”Maria Antonieta has the vision, leadership, and resolve needed to drive IPPF and its mission during this crucial moment in SRHRJ and human rights history, and now is an opportunity for IPPF to reaffirm our Charter of Values, unanimously adopted at the 2025 General Assembly. Dignity, equality, justice, pleasure, community, integrity, and resilience are not abstract ideals for IPPF, they are our commitment to advance and defend sexual and reproductive health and rights for everyone, everywhere. This work will continue under Maria Antonieta’s stewardship as we reaffirm who we are and continue to stand steadfast alongside the healthcare providers, educators, activists, movement-builders and volunteers that are IPPF’s collective strength. As we welcome Maria Antonietta, we also thank Dr Alvaro Bermejo for his work in radically transforming the organisation to the IPPF you see today. We can stand proud, disruptive and fierce in our fight for sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice because of the work you undertook to reaffirm who we are: a vibrant, diverse collective, united by an unwavering commitment to sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice. 

Beirut, Lebanon - The Lebanese Association for Family Health (SALAMA)—IPPF’s Member Association in Lebanon—hosted the closing ceremony of its Japan-funded project, “Preventing Maternal and Reproductive Health Morbidities and Mortalities among Crisis-Affected Populations, IDPs, Syrian Refugees, and Host Communities in Lebanon,” in Beirut, in the presence of a panel of participants, including the representatives of the Lebanese Ministries of Health and Social Affairs, the Government of Japan, and the IPPF.Funded through the Japan Supplementary Budget (JSB) 2024, the initiative has significantly enhanced access to lifesaving maternal and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services for crisis-affected communities in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), Syrian refugees, and host communities.Project Achievements:85,684 SRH services delivered, reaching 28,562 beneficiaries.5,836 women received comprehensive maternal, newborn, and child health care.134 safe deliveries supported through partner hospitals.Sustained operation of two SALAMA clinics in the Bekaa Valley.Community outreach reached 5,960 individuals, with 200 mama-baby kits and 3,000 dignity kits distributed.Capacity-building trainings strengthened healthcare providers’ skills, while partnerships with municipalities and humanitarian actors ensured wider outreach and sustainability.Since 2017, Lebanon has faced overlapping crises—including economic collapse, the Beirut Port explosion, and regional conflicts—that have placed immense strain on its healthcare system. Vulnerable populations, particularly women, girls, IDPs, and refugees, have been disproportionately affected.With the generous support of the Government of Japan, SALAMA has implemented three humanitarian projects funded through the Japan Trust Fund (JTF) and JSB, delivering over 196,441 SRH services in the Bekaa Valley. These interventions have strengthened community resilience, ensured continuity of lifesaving services during prolonged crises, and integrated SRH, mental health, and gender-based violence (GBV) services through structured referral mechanisms. “The completion of this vital project in the Bekaa Valley exemplifies Japan’s steadfast commitment to protecting Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights,” said Japan’s Ambassador to Lebanon, H.E. Kenji Yokota. “Beyond the provision of essential medical services, it upholds the fundamental right of every individual to live with dignity. This initiative embodies our Human Security approach by empowering individuals and ensuring that no one is left behind,” he added. “Japan remains dedicated to standing alongside Lebanon in supporting resilience, recovery, and long-term stability," he stressed.“From our very first steps, the Government and people of Japan have stood beside SALAMA, enabling us to serve and empower communities through years of crisis,” said Lina Sabra, Executive Director of SALAMA. “Their support, particularly in this recent project, has been a lifeline for families rebuilding after conflict. We are deeply grateful for this enduring partnership.”Through these initiatives, SALAMA has reinforced human security by protecting vulnerable individuals from disease, violence, and psychological distress, while empowering them to make informed decisions about their health and strengthening solidarity within families, communities, and health systems.About SALAMAThe Lebanese Association for Family Health “SALAMA” was founded in 2008. It is a member association of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) which is the largest voluntary non-governmental organization in the world, working on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) issues and advocating for them. SALAMA promotes and provides high quality services, and raises awareness for all groups in the society, particularly the under-served and marginalized.About IPPFThe International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) is a global federation of more than 100 locally led Member Associations working in over 150 countries to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights. In humanitarian settings, IPPF plays a critical role in delivering lifesaving maternal, sexual and reproductive health services to crisis-affected communities, including displaced populations and those facing conflict, disaster, and instability. Through its locally rooted Member Associations, IPPF provides frontline health care, supports preparedness and emergency response, strengthens health systems, and advocates for the protection of rights and dignity in even the most challenging contexts. Locally led and globally connected, IPPF combines service delivery, policy advocacy, and community engagement to ensure that no one is left behind, particularly those most underserved in humanitarian crises.

The World Economic Forum in Davos began this week under the slogan “A Spirit of Dialogue.” But we must ask - who gets to speak? Who is heard, and who is systematically excluded? If Davos truly believes in dialogue, it must confront these five realities:  1. No dialogue is meaningful without those most affected.  Powerful governments and donor institutions are redirecting public resources toward militarisation and security while gutting international development funding. As aid budgets shrink, women, LGBTQI+ people, sex workers, migrants, and people in poverty bear the brunt.  HIV cases are rising. Sexual and reproductive healthcare is being stripped away. Yet the communities most impacted remain excluded, criminalised, or underfunded. 2.  A dialogue that ignores imperial violence is complicit.  Wars and neocolonial extraction for oil, land, and rare earth minerals are driving climate injustice, destroying lives, displacing indigenous communities, and destabilising regions.  We bear witness to a geopolitical era defined by impunity, where powerful states and corporations have unilaterally removed all limits on themselves, operating without constraint or accountability in a deeply fractured global system. What kind of dialogue is possible while genocide, occupation and forced displacement continue? Who speaks for those buried, disappeared, or silenced? 3.  A true “spirit of dialogue” must defend bodily autonomy and reproductive justice.  Across the world, anti-gender and anti-rights groups are rolling back the rights of women and LGBTQI+ people, fuelling stigma, violence, and restricting bodily autonomy. They are enabled by the same political and economic actors driving privatisation, border militarisation, and corporate impunity. Many of these actors are still welcomed at Davos.  4. Dialogue without truth, accountability, and justice is another form of erasure. The same economic and political systems celebrated at Davos continue to enable sexual and gender-based violence and barriers to sexual and reproductive healthcare. Militarisation, displacement, labour exploitation, and austerity strip survivors of protection while shielding those in power.  5. Dialogue that excludes grassroots movements is power talking to itself.  Feminist, LGBTQI+, and sex worker movements are not fringe voices: they are on the frontlines of defending sexual and reproductive health and rights amid criminalisation, backlash, and shrinking civic space. Davos does not need new slogans. It needs accountability. We demand dialogue that confronts power, centres justice, and protects bodily autonomy.  

Clic aquí para leer el comunicado en español.8 January 2026The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) condemns the imperialist actions of the Trump administration and maintains an unwavering commitment to the Venezuelan people. The US bombardment of Venezuela on 3 January 2026 is yet another example of the invasion of a resource-rich nation by the US, further destabilizing Venezuela, a country that has been subjected to the militarised repression and violence of the Maduro regime, and now that of US forces. The Trump administration's imperialist actions constitute a gross violation of international laws, global coexistence agreements, and the national sovereignty of a sovereign State, further aggravated by threats of military actions that deepen the risk to the civilian population. Imposing political, economic, or territorial control through force is a damaging colonial and racist use of power that further distances us from peace, justice and liberation. In this context, we recall that the struggle for sexual and reproductive health,rights and justice (SRHRJ) cannot be separated from the fight against militarization, imperialism, and violence in all its forms.IPPF stands firmly side-by-side with the human rights defenders and civil society who have worked to respond to the political, migratory, economic, and social crisis affecting Venezuela. Women, girls, and the most marginalized communities have borne the heaviest burden of the Maduro regime and this crisis.  Silencing dissent, ruling through fear, and concentrating power in the hands of the regime have dismantled democracy, fueled violence, and driven the country into economic collapse. According to UNHCR, approximately 7.9 million people have fled the country (nearly one-third of its total population), causing an unprecedented migratory crisis.We have also seen the staggering rise of gender inequality, femicide, and violence against women and LGBTQI+ people and other marginalized populations. There is a lack of access to health services, including sexual and reproductive health, and restrictive abortion services, highlighting that the maintenance of the regime has been prioritized over the well-being of a population submerged in a humanitarian crisis. At IPPF, we have consistently highlighted the serious neglect of sexual and reproductive rights in Venezuela and denounced all forms of rights violations. Therefore, at this moment, we must not take our attention off the ongoing SRHR needs of the nation - rights which risk further erosion under the militarised and colonial intervention of the Trump administration, which has actively rolled back sexual and reproductive rights and committed human rights violations within its own borders and has enabled such violations through against-the-law interventions in other countries. This government cannot be trusted to protect these rights in Venezuela and elsewhere.  External control and imposed political outcomes will only deepen the internal crisis and further restrict access to essential sexual and reproductive health services. We join the international community against the invasion in Venezuela and: Express our strongest condemnation and radical opposition to the invasion by US forces into Venezuelan territory for the violent detention and extraterritorial kidnapping/detention of the acting president, which has already claimed human lives, generated irreparable damage, and sowed a climate of fear and uncertainty among the population.We vehemently oppose this act of force by the U.S. government. As a Federation operating in 30 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and over 150 countries globally, we have provided direct humanitarian assistance in devastating crises across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East including in Gaza and Sudan.  Today, the Americas region, historically considered a zone of peace by the international community, now serves as the stage for imperialist interventions that the international community should have already overcome, such as those derived from the Monroe Doctrine, jeopardising the progress made towards justice and equity.We alert the international community to the evident geopolitical and economic interests underlying this intervention and call for the unity of the countries in the region to confront this crisis. Under no circumstances should the rule of force or the ambition for resources prevail over the sovereignty and dignity of a people. The right to self-determination must not be subordinated to external geopolitical agendas.We express profound solidarity with the Venezuelan people, who must not continue to be victims of this prolonged suffering. We demand the immediate reversal of this situation and call on the United States and those in power to stop actions that put civilian lives at risk and to allow humanitarian and civil society organizations to provide uninterrupted healthcare, including SRHRJ. The lives and dignity of women, girls, and marginalized communities must not be endangered by historical logics of domination. We demand a reconfiguration of U.S. foreign policy that prioritizes concerted diplomacy and respect for the sovereignty of all peoples and States. IPPF is calling for an immediate rethinking of the attacks on Venezuela in favor of an institutional and dialogued solution within the framework of international law and human rights.At IPPF, we are committed to the rights of all people to live free from violence and ensuring that the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women, girls, people on the move, and marginalized communities are met. To achieve this, we must confront and dismantle the legacies and ongoing manifestations of colonialism and imperialism.We reiterate that it must be the people of Venezuela themselves who, in the exercise of their full freedom and without foreign tutelage, make decisions regarding their present and future, including their constitutional right to have their Vice President call for new democratic elections.