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UN dragged into AIDS row

    JOHANNESBURG

    Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) a South African AIDS lobby group, has handed a damning indictment of the government's response to HIV/AIDS to the UN.

    The TAC, who were blocked from attending the forthcoming UN General Assembly Special Session on AIDS (UNGASS), criticised President Thabo Mbeki and his administration, saying AIDS claimed at least 1,000 lives daily in South Africa, while the government continued to sow confusion.

    Brenden Varma, a spokesman for Annan's office, told local media over the weekend that the TAC's submission had been forwarded to UNAIDS for input and comment. "UNAIDS will provide a proposed course of action soon. I understand the government of South Africa has not changed its position," he noted.

    Meanwhile, the government has remained firm in its objection to the presence of the TAC and its affiliate, the AIDS Law Project, at UNGASS, on the grounds that they could use the platform to vilify the government.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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