Special Session on HIV/AIDS - UN General Assembly

From June 25 to 27, 2001, the United Nations General Assembly will convene a special session on HIV/AIDS in New York to review the problem in all its aspects and to secure a global commitment to combat the epidemic.

At the special session, Member States of the General Assembly of the United Nations are expected to agree on a declaration of commitment that will strengthen political commitment and intensify efforts in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

In resolution 55/13 of the General Assembly, adopted on 16 November 2000, Member States recognized the importance of the contribution of civil society actors, including associations of people living with HIV/AIDS, NGO and the business sector, in the response to the epidemic and underlined the need for their involvement in both the preparatory process of the special session and in the special session itself.

I - Why is this special session of the General Assembly important to civil society actors?

The General Assembly is the main deliberative body of the United Nations. It is composed of Member States representing all 189 countries of the world. The decisions of the General Assembly carry the political heavyweight of world opinion on major international issues.

Therefore, the special session will provide a unique opportunity for civil society actors in the area of HIV/AIDS to contribute to the global commitment in the fight against the epidemic and to make their voice heard among world leaders.

The special session will also provide a platform for discussions and information exchange/sharing on various responses at all levels, from grass-roots to global.

As part of the preparations for the special session, governments will be developing and negotiating a set of commitments and priorities for future action in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. It is expected that a declaration of commitment shall be adopted by the General Assembly at the special session. The declaration will be a reference for future decision-making on AIDS by governments, inter-governmental organizations and a potentially powerful advocacy tool for civil society actors.

We all have a collective responsibility to help ensure that the priorities of our regions, our countries and our communities are reflected.

II - How to get involved in the special session and its preparatory process:

As not all civil society actors will be able to participate in the preparatory meetings and the special session itself, a virtual forum (via email) has been set up to channel your input, ideas and priorities into the preparatory process of the special session.

This e-mail forum will provide a visible and accessible arena for all, including government representatives and UN officials. Issues raised through forum contributions will be synthesized and clustered into regional and/or thematic priorities. They may also be collated into an 'NGO Issues Paper'. These contributions will be made available to government delegations throughout the preparatory process of the special session.

News and announcements about the preparations for the special session will also be distributed through the forum.

Find out which ministry is organizing your country's delegation to the special session. Contact them, and ask them to include NGO representatives in their delegation or to raise specific HIV/AIDS-related issues and priorities at the special session.

To participate in the special session in person, an accreditation is required. The accreditation process is formal, and requires specific criteria and supporting documents. Accreditation allows invited civil society actors to attend selected meetings of the preparatory process and the special session itself (although at present no travel funds are available for attending NGOs).

Detailed accreditation procedures and instructions shall be distributed widely in the next few days.

"We must make people everywhere understand that the AIDS crisis is not over; that this is not about a few foreign countries, far away. This is a threat to an entire generation; this is a threat to an entire civilization....the General Assembly special session will provide us with an occasion as never before to face up to our responsibility to future generations, and take decisive action now to turn back the progress of this terrible disease."

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan

"When the General Assembly holds its special session on AIDS in June, all the United Nations Member States will have the chance to pledge their commitment to the global fight against AIDS. I look forward to that occasion, not for the fine words that will no doubt be produced, but for the tangible outcomes it will make closer. As the new century dawns, every corner of the planet is aware of the terrible scale of the epidemic. We must now ensure the world demands an effective response, equal to that scale."

UNAIDS Executive Director - Peter Piot

Health & Development Networks (www.hdnet.org) has been commissioned by UNAIDS to help ensure that NGO and community voices are channelled, in a transparent way, into the UN General Assembly special session on HIV/AIDS. The mission of Health & Development Networks is to mobilize a more effective response to HIV/AIDS and other health- and development-related issues by improving information, communication and the quality of debate.