The Office of the President of the General Assembly requested the creation of a Civil Society Task Force to be convened to assist in key decisions relating to attendance and participation of civil society organizations in the UNGASS High Level Review Meeting to be held in New York on 10 and 11 of June, 2008. The role of representatives is unpaid but expenses and travel will be covered by UNAIDS.
Below you will find an update on the Civil Society Task Force nomination process, provided by the Civil Society Support Mechanism. Updates on task force members and upcoming meetings will follow. To read updates about civil society involvement with the OPGA, click here.
Nominees Recommended by the Support Group
The Support Group[1] of the Civil Society Support Mechanism[2] was requested to facilitate a call for nominations (sent in January 2008). Different HIV and AIDS community networks were requested to submit two to three nominations to be reviewed by members of the Support Group for the following constituency categories:
These networks used their own process to select these nominations. It was left to each network's discretion to identify and carry out their selection process.
The Support Group received 35 nominations.[3] These nominations were assessed against an overall criteria set out in the terms of reference of the Task Force, including gender balance, at least one person from each major geographical region, a minimum of three of people living with HIV, representation of key populations and key issues, and to include people with experience of national review processes and of the 2006 Task Force.
The support group nominated 12 individuals (below) to be considered by the OPGA. The final decision rests with the President of the General Assembly.
Networks of people living with HIV:
Networks of key populations:
PCB NGO delegates:
Labour organisations:
Women's organisations:
Youth Networks:
Faith-based organisations:
Civil Society Support Mechanism:
Once the Office of the President of the General Assembly confirms the selection of individual members, more details will be provided.
Other nominations received outside the established process will be considered for other roles within the High Level Meeting, such as participants/speakers on the Civil Society Hearing and/or the panel discussions.
It is planned that the first meeting of the Civil Society Task Force will take place 19 and 20 of February, which presents major logistical challenges (particularly visa and travel). Other options are being considered e.g. joint in-person and teleconference for first meeting.
Civil Society Support Mechanism
[1] Members of Support Group: Mauro Guarinieri (PLHIV/GNP+), Fiona Pettit (PLHIV/ICW)Greg Gray (PLHIV/ITPC), Sonja Weinreich (Faith/EAA), Sydney Hushie (Youth/GYCA), Stijn Goossens (Drug Users/INPUD), Andrew Hunter (Sex Workers/NSWP), Innocent Laison [Africa - interim], Goh SoonSiew [Asia-Pacific - interim], Marija Subataite [Europe - interim], Renate Koch [Latin America and the Caribbean - interim], Shaleena Theophilus (North America -interim), Alan Leather (Labour).
2 Coalition members: African Council of AIDS Service Organizations (AfriCASO), AIDS Action Europe (AAE), Asia-Pacific Council of AIDS Service Organizations (APCASO), Latin America and the Caribbean Council of AIDS Service Organizations (LACCASO), International Council of AIDS Service Organizations (ICASO), International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC).
3 Some of the nominees were also part of the Support Group. These individuals did not participate in the discussion and nomination process of their constituencies to avoid conflict of interest.
On 12 May the Civil Society Task Force sent a letter to Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS and Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO requesting leadership in ensuring that the HLM and briefing documents relating to the meeting highlight and strengthen the commitments made to achieving universal access by 2010. On 28 May, Peter Piot sent a reply letter. Please see below to download.
On 12 May the Civil Society Task Force sent a letter to Dr. Peter Piot, UNAIDS and Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO regarding the lack of emphasis on the commitment to universal access within the official documents being prepared for the Panels during the High Level Meeting (HLM). The letter requests leadership in ensuring that the HLM and briefing documents relating to the meeting highlight and strengthen the commitments made to achieving universal access by 2010. See below to download the letter.
Here you will find the overview summaries from the Civil Society Task Force Meetings that are taking place prior to the UNGASS Review Meeting in New York City.
The Support Group[1] of the Civil Society Support Mechanism[2] was requested to facilitate a call for nominations (sent in January 2008). Different HIV and AIDS community networks were requested to submit two to three nominations to be reviewed by members of the Support Group for the following constituency categories:
Zonny Woods (IWHC) and Kieran Daly (ICASO) just recently met with the facilitators/co-chairs of the High Level Meeting on AIDS in June 2008 (Ambassadors to Estonia and Botswana), UNAIDS NY, and the Office of the President of the General Assembly. This was mainly as an initial briefing for them on civil society involvement. We discussed issues related to NGO Accreditation, Civil Society Support Mechanism, Outcome document, Secretary-General's report, Civil Society Hearing, and Panels.