Summary: November 2, 2000: Statement made by His Excellency, Jean-David Levitte, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations. Review of the problem of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in all its aspects (New York)
Mr. President,
I have the honor of taking the floor on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union (Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia) and the other associated countries (Cyprus, Malta) align themselves with this statement.
I have no desire to remind you yet again of the figures for the appalling pandemic which now affects all continents and countries, but the effects of which are particularly devastating in the developing countries, particularly in sub Saharan Africa.
In addition to its impact on health, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has grown into a major development crisis. The pandemic is assuming dramatic proportions in some regions, particularly in southern Africa where, as UNAIDS has indicated, in 7 countries over one fifth of the adult population is infected.
Apart from the human drama, what are the consequences for those societies which are already so vulnerable, as they confront the prospect of what amounts to slaughter on a scale without precedent in modern history? Affecting primarily children, the reproductive population and the working population, AIDS is decimating the life force of those societies and threatening their future.
In addition to the economic and social impact, in the countries most severely affected the pandemic represents a threat to stability and security, as explained at the two meetings organized by the Security Council in January and July this year.
The fight against the pandemic calls for an integrated and global approach, as can be seen from the experiences of a number of countries which have achieved remarkable results; I am thinking in particular of Senegal, Uganda and Thailand. Recognition and commitment at the highest levels of the political, religious and moral authorities are decisive factors. In addition, the mobilization of society as a whole is needed. No solution will be effective without a combined effort and without
recognition and respect for sexual rights and women's procreational rights. Changes in behavior can only come about with the development of information and awareness campaigns that take account of the needs of the various sections of the public, including men and adolescents.
HIV/AIDS prevention requires the reinforcement of education and health services and the provision of safe, affordable, and effective methods of prevention accessible to all, such as condoms. Those initiatives will not be successful without the full participation of groundroots associations and communities. Similarly, we must increase access to health care for the sick, ensure that their rights are respected, eliminate all forms of stigmatization and, lastly, step up attempts to develop a
vaccine.
In the last few month, AIDS has been on the agenda for numerous international meetings. The European Union welcomes this. It sees it as a sign of growing awareness of the challenge facing us. Mobilization has begun, and this special session could be its high point.
This special session of the General Assembly must be used to maximize the advantages offered by national and international initiatives and encourage their effective implementation. It must provide an opportunity to promote the global and multisectoral approach that we advocate. It could also be used to construct or develop new partnerships, in the fashion of the International Partnership against AIDS in Africa launched by UNAIDS at the end of last year. It should enable us to enhance
international cooperation and coordination in the fight against AIDS, between bilateral and multilateral agencies as between the European Union and the UN system. It must serve to publicize best practices and to show, in the light of the examples just given, that the worst is not inevitable and that it is possible to stem the progress of the pandemic, perhaps even to roll it back.
This special session can also offer an opportunity to identify solutions for the way forward. The European Union considers it essential for the fight against AIDS to be fully integrated into national health development strategies. Prevention must remain the priority and be underpinned, and the conspiracy of silence must be broken once and for all. This session of the General Assembly may also enable us to improve access for sufferers to treatment and to effective medical and social after care.
For the European Union, there cannot be two ways to fight AIDS: prevention and treatment in the north, prevention alone in the south. Prevention and treatment must go hand in hand, in the south as in the north.
As you know, the European Union is heavily committed to fighting AIDS.
Over the last decade, several thousand million euro have been spent on international cooperation in the field of health, AIDS and population, through measures directed by the European Commission, by bilateral agencies in the Member States or in the form of contributions to the funding of UNAIDS, representing almost half of its budget… We would also like to encourage partnerships with the private sector, particularly industry, sufferers associations and NGOs.
On 28 September this year, a round table was organized by the European Commission in Brussels, in collaboration with the WHO and UNAIDS, which brought together representatives of the public and private sectors to discuss three illnesses: AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. That meeting highlighted the need for more resolute and coordinated action to prevent the development of pandemics, increase access to health care and support research, including research into vaccines.
That initiative illustrates the mobilization of the European Union, which intends to play an active part in the preparation and proceedings of the General Assembly's special session. It therefore gives its full support to the draft resolution before us today.
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