International civil society denounce UN meeting on AIDS as a failure

Civil society groups from around the world denounced the final UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, released after marathon negotiations during the UN High Level meeting on AIDS this week.

Civil society groups from around the world denounced the final UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, released after marathon negotiations during the UN High Level meeting on AIDS this week.
 

"Once more we are disappointed at the failure to demonstrate real
political leadership in the fight against the pandemic" said The Most Revd
Njongonkulu Ndungane, the Anglican Archbishop of Capetown. "Even at this
late stage, we call on the world's political leaders to rise up and meet
the challenges that the pandemic presents and to set ambitious targets at
a national level to guarantee universal access to treatment, care, support
and prevention."

UN Member States refused to commit to hard targets on funding, prevention,
care and treatment. They rejected frank acknowledgement that some of the
today's fastest growing HIV epidemics are happening among injecting and
other drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men. "The final
outcome document is pathetically weak.  It is remarkable at this stage in
the global epidemic that governments can not set the much needed targets
nor can they can name in the document the very people that are most
vulnerable" said Sisonke Msimang of the African Civil Society Coalition.

"African governments have displayed a stunning degree of apathy,
irresponsibility, and complete disrespect for any of the agreements they
made in the last few months" said Leonard Okello, Head of HIV/AIDS for
Action Aid International. "The negotiation processes was guided by trading
political, economic and other interests of the big and powerful countries
rather than the glaring facts and statistics of the global AIDS crisis,
seventy percent of which is in Sub-Saharan Africa."

African government delegations reneged on their promises in the 2006 Abuja
Common position agreed to by African Heads of State.  South Africa and
Egypt, in particular, took a deliberate decision to oppose the setting of
targets on prevention and treatment, despite the fact that both
participated in the Abuja Summit that endorsed ambitious targets to be
reached by 2010.  "The continent that is most ravaged by AIDS has
demonstrated a complete lack of leadership.  It is a sad, sad day as an
African to be represented by such poor leadership" said Omololu Faloubi of
the African Civil Society Coalition.

But the African governments were not alone.  The United States was
particularly damaging to the prospects for a strong declaration.
Throughout the negotiations they moved time and again to weaken language
on HIV prevention, low-cost drugs and trade agreements and to eliminate
commitments on targets for funding and treatment.  "It's death by
diplomacy," said Eric Sawyer, veteran activist and 25-year survivor of
HIV/AIDS.  "Hour after hour, my government fought for its own selfish
interests rather than for the lives of millions dying needlessly around
the globe"

There has however been a strong recognition in the declaration of the
alarming feminization of the pandemic. Commitments were made to ensure
that women can exercise their right to have control over their sexuality
and to the goal of achieving universal access to reproductive health by
2015.

This progress was undermined however by regressive governments.  "Syria,
Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan and Gabon blocked efforts to recognize and
act to empower girls to protect themselves from HIV infection" said Pinar
Ilkkaracan, President of Women for Women's Human Rights.  "Their failure
to commit to ensuring access to comprehensive sexuality education for
young people, and promote and protect sexual rights will undermine the
response to the HIV pandemic."

This was compounded by the declaration failing to acknowledge that some of
the today's fastest growing HIV epidemics are happening among injecting
and other drug users, sex workers and men who have sex with men, despite
strong support from the Rio Group of countries. For example, governments
have ignored the needs of injecting drug users by not stating the need for
substitution drug treatment, putting them at further risk.  "Failing to
fully address the needs of these groups, and particularly to counter
stigma and discrimination by decriminalizing drug use and sexual
behaviors, will render them more invisible and ultimately lead to even
higher rates of HIV/AIDS" said Raminta Stuikyte of the Central and Eastern
European Harm Reduction Network.

Again the US, along with other governments, ensured that the final
declaration text contains a substantially weaker reference to the AIDS
funding need. It now only acknowledges that more money is needed, rather
than committing to raising the needed funds. An estimated $23 billion is
needed per annum by 2010 in order to fund AIDS treatment, care, prevention
and health infrastructure. "At this stage in the pandemic, we expected
government commitment to close the global funding gap," said Kieran Daly
of the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations. "Instead they
have tried to let themselves off the hook."

While there has been a failure of governments to face the realities of
HIV/AIDS, civil society will be holding them to account.  Civil society
will hold governments to account to deliver on universal access.  Civil
society will make sure governments recognize and support vulnerable
populations. The failure of governments to commit will not be accepted.

EDITORS NOTE: "Vulnerable populations" includes women and girls, youth,
older people, men who have sex with men, injecting and other drug users,
sex workers, transgenders, people living in poverty, prisoners, migrant
laborers, orphans, people in conflict and post-conflict situations,
indigenous peoples, refugees and internally displaced persons, as well as
HIV/AIDS outreach workers and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Supporting organizations:
AAHUNG
ACT UP NY
Action Aid International
Advocates for Youth
AfriCASO
African Committee Services
AIDS Access Foundation
Aids Fonds
AIDS Foundation East-West
AIDS Law Project
AIDS Task Force, Africa Japan 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
Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network (CEEHRN)
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 AIDS Alliance
Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS Eastern Africa Region
Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+)
Health & Development Networks
Health GAP (Global Access Project)
HelpAge International
HIV Association Netherlands
Housing Works, Inc

Hungarian Civil Liberties Union
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
International Parenthood Planning Federation (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
SEICUS
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

Raminta Stuikyte
Central and Eastern European Harm Reduction Network
Secretariat:
Address: Pamenkalnio 19-6, LT-01114 Vilnius, Lithuania
Ph. +370-5 269 1600, cell +370-699-66677
Fax +370-5 269 1601
E-mail info@ceehrn.org, raminta@ceehrn.org
Web site: www.ceehrn.org