PRESS RELEASE

Issued by the African Civil Society Coalition on AIDS

African civil society denounces political declaration on AIDS

Leaders at AIDS meeting have failed Africa, say activists

NEW YORK, June 2 2006: African civil society organisations have =
denounced a political declaration adopted today by world leaders =
attending a United Nations AIDS meeting in New York.

At the High Level Review Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly,
which closed today, member-states negotiated a political declaration
which African activists have described as 'utterly retrogressive' and 'a
sham'.

AIDS organisations expressed their 'utter disappointment' at African
leaders and negotiators at the meeting, for excluding key regional
priorities and commitments in the political declaration.

"What has been signed on by African leaders at this meeting is a
document that set us several years back, to the days of denial,
complacency and a criminal refusal to act in the face of a consuming
epidemic", said Prudence Mabele of the Positive Women's Network, a South
African organisation that provides services to HIV-positive women.

"Our leaders have shown an utter lack of responsibility in standing up
for the lives of 25 millions HIV-positive Africans", she added.

The activists particularly lamented the absence of any reference to the
African Common Position on AIDS, adopted last month in Abuja, Nigeria,
which lists targets, milestones and commitments which African states
should meet to achieve universal access to prevention, treatment, care
and support of HIV and AIDS by the year 2010.

"The political declaration has pushed Africa several steps back in our
fight against AIDS," said Adenike Esiet of Action Health Inc, which runs
youth reproductive health programmes in Nigeria.

"By refusing to push for inclusion of targets and commitments agreed to
in Abuja, African leaders have shown that they are not to be trusted
when human lives affected by HIV are concerned."

The activists are particularly angry at countries such as Egypt, South
Africa and Gabon, which repeatedly blocked all references to the African
Common Position, and removed references to specific populations that are
most at risk of HIV, such as women and girls, sex workers, and men who
have sex with men.

But they commended Nigeria and Namibia, which spoke out in support of
the Abuja commitments, even when other African countries were not in
agreement.

Also criticised was the attitude of many African missions as well as the
African Union, whose diplomats stayed away from the key negotiations
that produced the political declaration.

"It's a shame that many countries in sub-Saharan Africa that are most
affected by this epidemic were nowhere to be found when it came to
protecting the interest of their peoples", noted Innocent Laison of the
African Council of AIDS Service Organisations, based in Senegal.

Civil society organisations are however resolute in defence of the
regional and national targets as contained in the African Common
Position. To this end, African CSOs have declared a Week of Action -
from June 13 to 17 - to mobilize support at country and regional levels
for the Abuja commitments.

"We will not allow this betrayal to stand," said Ludfine Anyango-Okeyo
from Kenya. "We will work tirelessly to hold our leaders accountable to
their commitments."

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Issued by the African Civil Society Coalition on AIDS

For more information contact:

Omololu Falobi
Email: [email][email protected]
+234 1 802 3139 636

Sisonke Msimang
Email: [email][email protected]
+27 83 450 7382