Response from the Secretary General of the UN to the Sign-On Letter of the World AIDS Campaign
On June 16th 2009 the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the World AIDS Campaign and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) came together to announce the theme of “Universal Access and Human Rights”. On this occasion, representatives of the Global Steering Committee of the World AIDS Campaign presented the Secretary General with a letter endorsed by a great many civil society groups from around the world.
- You can read the text of this letter here: Letter to the Secretary General (PDF)
Following up from the sign on, the World Aids Campaign is delighted to share his very positive response.
In addition to clear commitments to several asks we made of him, it's rewarding to learn that the encounter reinvigorated his personal commitment to protecting the human rights of people living with HIV.
As you can see our request for an open high-level review of progress to Universal Access at the end of 2010 was met with an understandably diplomatic, but broadly favourable answer. And although Ban Ki-moon did not commit to using September's General Assembly to call for emergency donations, he has agreed to Chair the Global Fund Replenishment Meeting for the next two years. So who knows? With more work from CS the Secretary General may yet raise the issue more vocally.
This first outcome is a good example of the fruits of strategic and well coordinated work from wonderfully diverse communities of the World Aids Campaign and the World Aids Campaign wants to thank everyone for their effort and support. That the World Aids Campaign was able to deliver very clear requests around complex issues like Human Rights, stigma and discrimination that also chimed in well with the PCB agenda and subsequent NGO's report is really great and something the World Aids Campaign can build on going forward.
You will find the response letter on the website at:
Warm regards
Marcel van Soest
Executive Director
World AIDS Campaign
van diemenstraat 192
1013CP Amsterdam
- Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise.
- www.worldaidscampaign.org