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2011 High Level Meeting on AIDS
General Assembly, UN, New York, 8-10 June 2011

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Statements and Webcast

Germany
H. E. Mr. Miguel Berger , Deputy Permanent Representative

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

10 June 2011

  • Statement: English (Check against delivery)

Statement Summary

MIGUEL BERGER ( Germany) said HIV was a challenge for every society, not just from a health perspective. It called for every country to take responsibility and show national leadership. Germany engaged people living with HIV and AIDS in the development and implementation of its AIDS strategy. Social exclusion and discrimination of certain groups promoted the spread of new infections. No future goals related to HIV and AIDS would be achievable with laws that punished homosexuality or drug users. Also important in that fight were the promotion of gender equality and efforts to curb gender-related violence. Germany supported bilateral programmes on HIV in more than 40 countries, as well as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Reacting to the rapid growth of new HIV cases in Eastern Europe, Germany had increased its support for programmes in that region. “We are willing to do our part,” he said. “At the same time national partners must increase the prevention activities and remove barriers to those efforts.”

Stressing that 40 per cent of new infections occurred among young people under 25 years old, he said that rate of infection must be reduced, for which youth must be allowed to take strong leadership roles. Young people wanted to be heard, he stressed, noting that their commitment raised hopes of finding a solution to HIV/AIDS. Today, as the General Assembly came together to recommit itself to the goals of the last 10 years, it must be committed to zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero new AIDS-related deaths.

Source: GA/11093