HIV and AIDS Campaign: Keep the Promise! Mobilize Nationally for UN Review

Keep up the Pressure: Mobilize Nationally for UN Review

Civil society and faith-based planning is moving ahead rapidly toward the United Nations review of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, 31 May - 2 June. Here is an update on past actions and suggested advocacy actions to keep up the pressure on national governments as preparationscontinue for the review.

Updates
Organizations without ECOSOC status had to apply for accreditation by February 3 (See 23 January action alert at http://www.e-alliance.ch/media/media-6269.doc). There was a strong faith-based representation amongst the applications. Member states are now reviewing the list and have the right to object to suggestions. Results should be announced by mid-April.
ECOSOC accredited organizations will be able apply to participate in the review through a separate process. These organizations are being asked to confirm their interest in participating in the meeting by 30 March 2006 with the DESA Non-Governmental Organizations Section of the United Nations Secretariat. The EAA encourages the strategic use of this accreditation -including voices from the field and people living with HIV and AIDS - particularly from the South.

In all cases, civil society organizations are encouraged to approach their governments to be included in national delegations wherever possible - particularly people living with HIV and AIDS and faith based representatives. More information on this approach is below.
For collective strategy purposes, the EAA strongly encourage sharing information about who has been accredited through your organization with the Ecumenical Planning Coordinator at cbordeau@e-alliance.ch.

A Civil Society Coalition on HIV/AIDS UNGASS has been formed to generate a louder collective voice, more pressure and influence on the UNGASS process, and to speed up our joint responses to key issues as they arise. This coalition is working through three civil society working groups. Each working group (WG) has a faith-based representative. Please contact them with suggestions, information or questions.
WGI: HIV/AIDS UNGASS Review Meeting (New York)
- contact: dfrado@earthlink.net; jmuwonge@WorldVision.org; mperry@fiop.org
WGII: National-level activities around HIV/AIDS UNGASS
- contact: rick@caa.org.na; cbordeau@e-alliance.ch
WGIII: Communications and information dissemination
- contact: sspeicher@e-alliance.ch; cbordeau@e-alliance.ch

What You Can Do

Because countries may formulate their positions by the time of the review, country level advocacy and pressure put on governments prior to the review session in New York are even moreimportant than participation at the United Nations.

Involve young people in holding governments to their promises! Share copies of the"Keep the Promise" teacher's resource with colleagues and friends and encourage schools and church groups to use the resource in the coming weeks. Request freeprinted copies of the resource (English/Spanish/French/Portuguese) through the online order form or download the guide directly from the web at:http://www.e-alliance.ch/hiv_curriculum.jsp

Review the DoC along with your country's progress report and the feedback from otherNGOs on the country report. Countries were supposed to submit reports to UNAIDSby December 31 on their progress implemented the commitments. Civil societyorganizations in a number of countries are also preparing shadow reports.These reports are available at http://ungasshiv.org/

Meet with other NGOs in your country to develop a common strategy to effectivelyinfluence your national delegation and then request a formal meeting betweenNGOs and members of the national delegation before the Review.

Identify what are the best practices and obstacles faced - what is and is not workingin the country to prevent the spread of HIV and how/ why treatment is or is not beingadministered. Be ready to share this information orally and in written form withyour government delegation.
Advocate for a strong civil society representation in the country delegation to the review meeting in New York, including one or more faith-based representatives.Delegations should also include people living with HIV and AIDS.

Write letters to your President or Prime Minister, Minister of Health or Minister ofForeign Affairs, Ambassador to the United Nations and contact your NationalAIDS Programme or Ministry of Health to ask him/her to keep their promise and support a renewal and strengthening of commitments made in 2001. A sample letter can be found in the curriculum listed above.

Consider challenging your country's delegation to a discussion or debate about the country report, shadow report or current position in relation to the DoC. Besure to invite the local media to cover the story.

Begin planning and organizing local events in the weeks prior to the ReviewSession to raise awareness and put pressure on the government to continue working towards the commitments. Devise a media strategy in coordinationwith these events.

Join the EAA\s UNGASS review listserve for further updates and action alerts.Subscribe by sending an email with your name and organization to cbordeau@e-alliance.ch.

Mark your calendar

Ecumenical Worship service, May 30, 6:30 PM - St. Bartholomew's Church in NewYork City will host an ecumenical worship service on the eve of the UNGASS Review. This service is being coordinated by the EAA and organized by faith leaders from around New York.

Youth Summit: May 29-30. Youth from around the world will convene in New YorkCity to guarantee that their voices are heard and to ensure that the outcome of theUNGASS review addresses the needs of youth. More information is available at http://www.youthaidscoalition.org/activities.html.

May 20-26 a Global Week of Action is being coordinated by Action AID to encouragecivil society groups from around the globe to host events that raise political andmedia awareness that demand urgency addressing the AIDS pandemic.

Background Information
The 2001 Declaration of Commitment (DoC) was the first worldwide pledge to addressthe HIV and AIDS pandemic. It stressed partnership among all sectors of society - fromgovernments and the UN system to business, labour, faith-based organizations (FBOs),the media, and people living with HIV and AIDS. Member States committed themselvesto stimulate and work with these partnerships in order to fulfill the DoC target guidelinesfor: leadership, prevention, care, support, treatment, human rights, reducing vulnerability,research and development, reaching regions affected by conflict or disasters, resourcesand follow-up monitoring.

In December 2005, the United Nations Member States agreed to undertake acomprehensive review of the progress achieved in realizing the targets set out in the 2001DoC. The DoC says that civil society groups, including people living with HIV and faithbased organizations must be active participants in UNGASS implementation, monitoringand reporting.

The review will take place at UN headquarters in New York from 31 May to 2 June 2006.The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance strongly encourages everyone to get involved in thereview process, both in national advocacy in the months leading up to the review and,if possible, in New York itself during the three days of the review.

For More Information
Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance http://www.e-alliance.ch/ungassreview.jsp
Web portal for civil society engagement with the UNGASS review: http://www.ungasshiv.org
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For past Action Alerts and Bulletins from the HIV and AIDS Campaign, see http://www.e-alliance.ch/newsletters.jsp

The Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance is a broad international network of churchesand Christian organizations cooperating in advocacy on global trade and HIV and AIDS. The Alliance is based in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information, see http://www.e-alliance.ch/