Title: ELCA Participates In UN Assembly On HIV/AIDS ELCA NEWS SERVICE
June 19, 2006
ELCA Participates In UN Assembly On HIV/AIDS 06-084-KH*
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) participated in the United Nations General Assembly High- level Review Meeting on HIV/AIDS May 31-June 2 at the U.N. headquarters, New York, to review the progress of objectives set out in the U.N. Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS in 2001. The ELCA and five other U.S. Christian communities and organizations represented at the assembly issued a joint response statement June 7 calling on U.S. policymakers to increase the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The participating U.S. Christian communities and organizations were: Church World Service, the Episcopal Church, the ELCA, Maryknoll AIDS task force, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church.
More than 800 civil society groups, including the global Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance of which the ELCA is a member, and most U.N. member states participated in three days of debate and discussion to evaluate the progress made in achieving the goals set out in the 2001 U.N. General Assembly Declaration. Participants addressed the 2001 Declaration's unfulfilled promises for prevention, education, treatment and care. A new declaration was released June 2.
In a statement issued in response to the U.N. Review Meeting, the U.S. Christian communities and organizations noted that the 2006 Political Declaration of the Assembly is "far stronger than earlier drafts because of this process." However, the groups joined many civil society organizations and governments in expressing disappointment with the new declaration.
"The new declaration could have been much stronger in establishing concrete and internationally recognized targets for prevention, education, treatment and care and recognizing the special needs of specific vulnerable populations," the statement said.
"We must continue to persuade governments to recognize and respond to the needs of specific vulnerable groups and others most affected by the pandemic," said Dennis W. Frado, director, Lutheran Office for World Community, New York, who attended the Assembly.
The statement also emphasized the essential role churches and other civil society groups play in holding the U.S. government accountable for its promises.
"Faith-based organizations must press governments with a renewed sense of urgency to keep their promises to fully finance the Global Fund, promote a complete range of evidence-based prevention strategies, and implement national plans for prevention, treatment and care," Frado said.
The Christian communities and organizations called on U.S. policymakers to increase the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; expand the scope of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); remove restrictions on U.S. HIV/AIDS funding; comply with the U.S. law that requires 10 percent of all U.S. global HIV/AIDS funding to be directed to orphans and vulnerable children; and invest in strengthening health systems in economically impoverished countries.
The group also encouraged member states, civil society organizations and the United Nations to enable "broad-based participation and transparency at the earliest stage." The response stated that the declaration is strongest in the areas shaped by inclusive and transparent collaboration.
"HIV and AIDS affect all of God's children, and thus, all must have a stake and a voice in its eradication," the statement said.
The U.S. Christian communities and organizations expressed disappointment with the new declaration, but the statement ended with a word of hope.
"While there are very real and sometimes overwhelming challenges to the world's effort to eradicate HIV and AIDS, we remain filled with great hope at what can be accomplished through our common efforts," the statement said.
The United Nations efforts to stop the spread of HIV and to support those living with HIV/AIDS are led by UNAIDS, the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, in collaboration with 11 other agencies.
---
Information and the latest news about the U.N. Review Meeting is available at http://www.ungass.org on the Web.
*Katherine R. Hinck is a senior journalism and religion major at Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D. This summer she is an intern with the ELCA News Service.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog