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Religious leaders walk from the UN headquarters to the chapel at the Church Center for an Interfaith Prayer Service held 7 June in advance of the HLM.

Religious leaders walk from the UN headquarters to the chapel at the Church Center for an Interfaith Prayer Service held 7 June in advance of the HLM.

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A UN High-Level Meeting on AIDS (HLM is being held 8-10 June at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Through the HLM, the international community can demonstrate commitment to accelerating the HIV response with the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic.

Concerted advocacy by people of faith has been a vital part of efforts to encourage governments to develop and adopt a Political Declaration with new and bold commitments – matched by funding commitments – to scale up prevention, treatment, care and support, eliminate stigma and discrimination, uphold human rights, and ensure the engagement of communities most affected.

Timeline to the High Level Meeting

6 April: Civil Society Hearing, New York. See the agenda and speakers.

19 April: Zero Draft of Political Declaration released. From this point, civil society can advocate with governments for specific modifications or additions in the Declaration draft.

6 May: UN Secretary General issues report on progress in addressing HIV for the HLM

7 June: Interfaith Prayer Service highlights need for action and launches an interfaith call to action

8 June: Political Declaration is adopted.

What you can do

The WCC-EAA and its participating organizations have been active at international levels to ensure key elements and targets – especially addressing treatment, stigma, and investment in the HIV response – are included in the Political Declaration. But now we need concerted action to make sure the ambitious targets can be reached.

1. Sign the Interfaith Call to Action and encourage others to sign. Make it clear this is not just a signature, but the commitment to act in some way to make concerted progress together to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

2. Write letters to the editor or blogs, and use social media to raise public and media awareness of the High Level Meeting, the Political Declaration and the Interfaith Call to Action.

3. Share the video, "Ending the AIDS epidemic, leave no one behind" which conveys WCC General Secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit's message to political and faith leaders on the commitment and action needed.

 

For more information:

WCC-EAA letter to UN Secretary General on his report and the zero draft of the political declaration (25 April)

WCC-EAA inputs to the Zero Draft of the HLM Political Declaration (21 April)

WCC-EAA intervention at the Human Rights Council: Panel Session on Human Rights and HIV: Ending the AIDS epidemic, leaving no one behind!

Press release on faith-based response to the Civil Society Hearing, 6 April.

UNAIDS on the High Level Meeting.

Civil Society priorities and advocacy towards the High Level Meeting