Civil Society Coalition on HIV/AIDS UNGASS

Under the newly formed ‘Civil Society Coalition on HIV/AIDS UNGASS’, civil society now have a unique opportunity to get involved and contribute towards the preparations for the UNGASS Review Meeting. The Review will take place at the United Nations headquarters in New York from 31 May to 2 June 2006. Informal interactive civil society hearings will be held on the morning of 31 May.

For background information on the Coalition, please find below a summary report of recent meetings of the Steering Committee on Civil Society Participation in the UNGASS HIV/AIDS Process, which took place in New York from 11-13 January 2006.

The objectives of the Coalition are to:

• Encourage and strengthen active civil society participation in reviewing progress with implementing the 2001 UNGASS Declaration of Commitment (DoC) on HIV/AIDS (and the official UNGASS Review Meeting); and
• Promote transparency and accountability around the UNGASS Review process and meeting.

With more civil society organisations now joining preparations for the UNGASS review, we are able to generate a louder collective voice, more pressure and influence on the process, and speed up our joint responses to key issues as they arise.

Anyone can be part of the Coalition, which is open to all civil society organizations (CSOs) that:

• are committed to and fully support full implementation of the DoC;
• are also commited to the principle of non-discrimination with regard to people living with HIV/AIDS and all groups most vulnerable to the epidemic.

To get involved, CSOs that meet these criteria are encouraged to self-nominate to join one or more of the Coalition’s three working groups (WGs) according to your own interests and strengths. The Working Groups are focused on:

• WGI: HIV/AIDS UNGASS Review Meeting (New York)
• WGII: National-level activities around HIV/AIDS UNGASS
• WGIII: Communications and information dissemination

The Coalition is opened to any interested parties based on our non-discrimination principle and provided that interested parties meet the basic requirements for demonstrated a track record and commitment to uphold the principles of the UNGASS HIV/AIDS Declaration of Commitment. Please find more information on the working groups below and contact the co-chairs of the working group(s) you would like to join (in english/spanish).