Invitation for Civil Society Nominations to attend UNGASS Review

UNAIDS is inviting nominations for civil society organizations
wishing to take part in a formal review of progress towards targets
agreed by United Nations member states five years ago to tackle HIV
and AIDS.

At the end of 2005 the United Nations General Assembly agreed to
convene a High-Level Meeting and undertake a Comprehensive Review of
the progress achieved in realizing the targets set out in the
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS.

The Review will take place at the United Nations headquarters in New
York from 31 May to 2 June 2006. Informal interactive civil society
hearings will be held on the morning of 31 May.

Recognising the importance of civil society in the AIDS response
UNAIDS has worked for many months with civil society partners and
the General Assembly to secure meaningful and active participation
of civil society at the Review.

The General Assembly Secretariat will draw up a list of civil
society representatives to be invited to participate in the meeting
by 15 February 2006.

This list will complement civil society organizations that are
accredited to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations
(ECOSOC) and those civil society organizations that will attend the
meeting as representatives on national delegations.

It is anticipated that more than 1,000 civil society organizations
will take part in the Review.

The NGO members of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board will
serve as the selection panel which will make the recommendations to
the General Assembly Secretariat.

Organizations with a proven record of making a difference in the
AIDS response are encouraged to indicate their interest in
participating in the meeting through the completion and submission
of an application form attached to this communication or available
from the UNAIDS website www.unaids.org by 3 February 2006.

People living with HIV are especially encouraged to apply – although
they should be aware of travel restrictions in the USA that might
mean they need to disclose their health status to secure entry.

Details on the US waiver system can be found at the US Department of
Justice website on
http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffairs/factsheets/HIVfs.htm

Member States and Observers have also been invited to include civil
society and private sector representatives in their national
delegations to the meeting.

A different process will apply to civil society organizations that
are accredited to the Economic and Social Council of the United
Nations (ECOSOC). These organizations should confirm their interest
in participating in the meeting by 30 March 2006 with the Non-
Governmental Organizations Section of the United Nations Secretariat
at desangosection@... providing information on the number of
representatives expected to attend the meeting. Such registration
will facilitate their consideration for participation in the round
tables of the meeting.

The text from the formal UN Resolution reads: "…Requests the
President of the General Assembly, following appropriate
consultations with Member States, to draw up, not later than 15
February 2006, a list of other relevant civil society
representatives, in particular associations of people living with
HIV/AIDS, non-governmental organizations, including organizations of
women and young people, girls and boys and men, faith-based
organizations, and the private sector, especially pharmaceutical
companies and representatives of labour, including on the basis of
the recommendations of the Joint Programme and taking into account
the principle of equitable geographical representation, and to
submit the list to Member States for consideration on a no-objection
basis for a final decision by the Assembly on participation in the
review and high-level meeting, including round tables and panel
discussions;"

Information about possible sources of support in attending the
meeting will be communicated at a later date.

Nominations should be sent, by 3 February, to csp@... or:

`UNGASS Nomination'
Civil Society Partnerships Unit
UNAIDS
20 avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Fax: +41 22 791 4149
Tel: +41 22 791 4448
csp@...

For further information: www.unaids.org
Or by email to csp@...