Civil Society Information Note from UNAIDS

26 January 2006, BTS EForum

Please find below, the UNAIDS Civil Society Information Note outlining four ways in which civil society can participate in the upcoming comprehensive review of progress towards the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS targets. The meeting will take place in New York from 31 May - 2 June 2006.

Please note that the deadline for civil society nominations/applications to be submitted to the UNAIDS is 3 February 2006. You can access the UNAIDS application form in English, French, Spanish and Russian at http://www.unaids.org/en/GetStarted/CivilSociety.asp on the UNAIDS website.

You can also access the letter of the President of the General Assembly (GA) referred to here in this posting at http://www.healthdev.org/eforums/cms/showMessage.asp?msgid=9705 on the forum archives.]

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Comprehensive Review of progress towards targets set out in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS (31 May- 2 June 2006, New York)

Accreditation of Civil Society Participants

Further to the 13 January 2005 letter of the President of the General Assembly (GA) on civil society participation (1), this is to clarify that there are four ways for civil society organizations to be accredited to the 31 May-2 June Review:

1. Civil society organizations that are accredited to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC) will be able to register and secure accreditation through the Non-Governmental Organizations Section of the United Nations Secretariat. ECOSOC accredited organizations are encouraged to 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@un.org providing information on the number of representatives expected to attend the meeting. Registration will permit attendance at the meetings, and facilitate consideration for participation in the round tables of the meeting.

2. Member States and Observers have also been invited to include civil society and private sector representatives in their national delegations to the meeting. Non-ECOSOC accredited civil society representatives are encouraged to negotiate participation as part of a country delegation.

3. NGO members of the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board may participate in accordance with operational paragraph 7 of GA Resolution A/RES/60/224.

4. To facilitate further attendance by civil society organizations, the Office of the GA President will draw up a list of additional civil society organizations to be invited. UNAIDS is currently receiving nominations for consideration by the Office of the GA President. The deadline for nominations is 3 February 2006. Only organizations who have sent in a nomination form and who are not in any of the above categories will qualify for consideration. Nomination forms are available form the UNAIDS website www.unaids.org or by emailing UNAIDS at csp@unaids.org.

After the closing date all nomination forms will be reviewed to check that they are from bona fide organizations working on AIDS by a panel that includes NGO representatives to the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board. A tentative list of civil society organizations will then be forwarded to the Office of the President of the GA for his consideration. The GA President, after appropriate consultations with Member States, will circulate the list for consideration by the GA on a non-objection basis not later than 15 February 2006.

Further information: csp@unaids.org


Source: Break-the-silence eForum