International Civil Society Warns High-Level UN Review on AIDS Could be Headed for Failure

none 01 Jun 2006 – 16:09

by mlepeska

International Civil Society Warns High-Level UN Review on AIDS Could be Headed for Failure: New UN AIDS Declaration Could Weaken Existing Global AIDS Commitments

Press Advisory

For Immediate Release: June 1, 2006

Civil society organizations and people living with HIV/AIDS warned today that there is a serious risk that the high level UN meeting to review progress and set new targets in the fight against AIDS could end in failure. Five years since the 2001 UN General Assembly Special Session on HIV, governments have failed to meet most of their targets for 2005, and are now failing to set new and ambitious targets.

Civil society representatives will hold a media briefing today reacting to the negotiations at 11:30 in Room 226, (Media Briefing Room) at UN Headquarters.

Governments are currently negotiating a Political Declaration that should be setting a clear path to address the new realities and needs in the response to AIDS up to 2010. Instead governments are playing political games, according to civil society.

“Avoiding controversy during these negotiations has been more important to some UN Member States than the lives of millions of people around the world who are living with HIV or at risk of infection, said Omololu Falobi of Journalists Against AIDS Nigeria. “The global fight against AIDS will not succeed unless governments commit to ambitious HIV treatment and prevention targets; support for the human rights of vulnerable populations such as sex workers, drug users, youth, and men who have sex with men; and embrace evidence-based HIV prevention. But these clear commitments are precisely what have currently been stripped out of the document.”

The US, Japan, Australia and other governments are also refusing to include mention of the global AIDS funding gap in the Political Declaration. UNAIDS estimates that at least $23 billion is needed annually by 2010 to finance the fight against AIDS; yet the USA, Australia and Japan have rejected the inclusion of this target.

Negotiations over a final declaration text have been marred by some governments’ ideological positions on HIV prevention, treatment and human rights. For example, the Africa Group brought a common negotiating position to this meeting. However Gabon, as negotiators for the Africa Group, have failed to negotiate based on this text. Instead they have aligned with conservative governments such as Egypt and Syria. In the last round of informal negotiations, language advocating the empowerment of girls was rejected by Syria. “Empowering women and girls, eliminating violence against women and defending the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all people are necessary in order to equip women with the tools they need to protect themselves against HIV infection,” said Jodi Jacobson, Executive Director of the Center for Health and Gender Equity.

The Africa Group’s common position coming into the negotiations also called for 80% treatment and prevention coverage by 2010. Yet South Africa, the US and other governments will not accept these targets in the Political Declaration. Without time-bound, aspirational targets that define recent commitments to achieve universal access to prevention and treatment, there will be no way of measuring whether governments are responding to the real needs in the response to HIV.

“Governments are choosing political expediency over real accountability, and disregarding the basic human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS and their communities,” said Laura Villa Torres of Mexico.

Many of the most important recommendations civil society activists from around the world have been advocating for over the last several months have been rejected by governments. The failure of leadership from

co-Chairs of the negotiations, Thailand and Barbados, is unacceptable. Moreover the UN has allowed this to happen. “Civil society, invited to participate in the meetings but not the negotiations, may have little choice but to walk away from this seriously flawed process if governments continue to insist on a declaration that offers nothing but a weak and compromised response in the face of a global public health crisis,” said Khensani Mavasa of Treatment Action Campaign, South Africa.

Contactformoreinformation:

Kieran Daly (416) 275-8413 or Asia Russell (267) 475-2645/asia@healthgap.org

Endorsing Organizations:
AAHUNG
ACT UP NY
Action Aid International
Advocates for Youth
AfriCASO
African Services Committee
AIDS Access Foundation
Aids Fonds
AIDS Law Project
AIDS Task Force, AfricaJapan Forum
Asia Pacific Council of AIDS Service Organizations (APCASO)
Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO)
Blue Diamond Society
CALCSICOVA (Cordinadora de Asociacia Ves de Lucha Contra el SIDA de la Cournida Valenciana
Catolicas por el Derecho a Decidir (Brasil)
Center for AIDS Rights, Thailand
Center for Health and Gender Equity
CESIDA - Coodinadora Espanalu en Sida
Colectivo Juvenil Decide/ Bolivia
European AIDS Treatment Group
GAT-Grupo Portugues de Activistas Sobre Tratamentos de VIH/SIDA
Gender AIDS Forum
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS Eastern Africa Region
Health & Development Networks
Health GAP (Global Access Project)
HelpAge International
HIV Association Netherlands
Housing Works, Inc
ICW Latina
International Council of AIDS Service Organisations
International HIV/AIDS Alliance
International Women's AIDS Caucus & FEIM
International Working Group in Social Policies and Sexuality
IPPF
Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS/Nigeria)
Namibia Network of AIDS Service Organizsations (NANASO)
National AIDS Trust (UK)
National Association of PLWHA in Namibia (Lironga Eparu)
National Empowerment Network of PLWHA in Kenya
Nepal HIV/AIDS Alliance
New Ways
NNIWA
OSISA
Positive Action Movement, Nigeria
Positive Women's Network
Red Latinoamericana y Caribena de Jevenes pro la Derecliora Sexuales y Reproduction (REDLAC)
Red Tra Sex
RED2002 (Spain)
RSMALC
Rutgers Nisso Group, The Netherlands
Sensoa V2W
Share - Net
Stop Aids Liberia
Student Global AIDS Campaign
Tenemos Sida (Spain)
Treatment Action Group (TAG)
Treatment Action Movement, Nigeria
UK Coalition of People Living with HIV and aids
Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office
United Nations Association in Canada
VSO
Women for Women's Human Rights (WWHR)
World AIDS Campaign
World Population Foundation, Netherlands

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