The co-facilitators of the 2016 United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS, Patricia Mwaba Kasese-Bota, Permanent Representative of Zambia to the United Nations, and Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations, have released the zero draft of the 2016 Political Declaration: on the Fast-Track to end AIDS in the age of sustainable development.
The zero draft reflects on the achievements made so far in the response to AIDS. It also sets out a clear agenda to Fast-Track the response by 2020 and put the world on track to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.
The zero draft was presented to United Nations Member States on 18 April. The co-facilitators will begin open, transparent and inclusive informal consultations on the draft declaration on 25 April. Member States will negotiate and finalize the declaration over the next few weeks, which will be then be presented for adoption at the High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS on 8 June. The co-facilitators will also hold an informal meeting with civil society, the private sector and other relevant stakeholders on 26 April, which will be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org/live/.
The United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS will take place in New York, United States of America, from 8 to 10 June. It will bring together high-level representatives of United Nations Member States, people living with HIV, civil society, the private sector and other partners to focus the world’s attention on the importance of a Fast-Track approach to the AIDS response over the next five years. The Political Declaration adopted at the meeting will guide and monitor the AIDS response towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
Feedback and comments on the zero draft can be made by email to the International Council of AIDS Service Organizations at HLM2016@icaso.org, by no later than Friday, 22 April.
