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UN meeting deadlock over declaration

    JOHANNESBURG

    A UN High Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS in New York is struggling to reach consensus over a final declaration of commitment on how to tackle the pandemic before the conference ends on Friday.

    Progress had been made since a draft declaration was presented on Wednesday, but delegates said there was still some way to go before a final version could be ratified. The previous Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS was made at a similar meeting in 2001.

    "After five years, we are still reviewing the same declaration. It's not an outcome. Something has to happen - a click - to get out of declarations and into actions," Violeta Ross of the International Community of Women Living With HIV/AIDS told reporters.

    Although the importance of male and female condoms has been agreed, there is still no specific mention of homosexuals, sex workers and drug-users, as some countries fear it would amount to supporting illegal activities.

    The term "vulnerable groups" will be used instead, and despite agreement on condom use, countries from Africa and the Middle East frown on this inclusion for fear of promoting promiscuity.

    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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