United Press International - Wednesday, 27 June 2001
Richard Ale

An agreement was apparently reached late last night, after the opposition of conservative Islamic countries, the Catholic Church and various Christian groups forced deletion from the document of references to high-risk groups such as gays and prostitutes and to explicit sexual practices that act to increase the spread of the virus, U.N. officials said.

The document does urge all countries to protect the rights of people with AIDS, they said.

Penny Wensley of Australia, a co-facilitator on the draft declaration negotiations, told reporters that in spite of "unhappy" regional groups that felt they had been stretched "well outside their comforts zones," there still survived a sense among the delegates that everyone "was in this together."

The result was a document containing "very strong, progressive language," in spite of the fact the issues were "extremely complex" and the views of 189 member states and observers had to be taken into account.

She attributed the delegates coming to an agreement in part to the "keen interest" of thousands of non-governmental organizations, civil society groups, and the business community.

"Overall, there has been a great sense of responsibility," she said.

The document, which was first presented to delegates at 4:30 a.m. on Monday, contains many compromises. There are careful qualifications and careful use of language to try to accommodate the concerns of the various delegations. But the final document will be clear, not vague.

According to Wensley, it will offer significant targets and strategies for governments, the private sector, and at national, regional and global levels and would hopefully act as "a future blueprint for future action."

In many panels held Tuesday, concern was expressed by delegates over the links between poverty and AIDS, the lack of resource delivery to local communities, the widespread lack of food and nutrition in many developing African countries, and the vulnerability of children to the disease.

There was also significant concern about "gender issues," including the right of women to take precautions to protect themselves from the HIV virus and to make decisions freely about their sexuality.

But Wensley said that the final points of negotiation had centered on vulnerable groups and on the language describing their predicament and the predicament of those most at risk from the pandemic. The declaration will also include statements dealing with cultural, legal, financial, economic, social and cultural factors that would "hamper prevention, care, support and treatment."

There has been concern throughout to treat "with sensitivity" the widely varying views of the delegates involved. The Organization of the Islamic Conference from the outset indicated it had profound worries about language that might be in conflict with its religious or cultural values.

But Wensley said that such opposition had been addressed, chiefly to ensure that full respect was given differing views and perspectives in order to use "the positive elements of religious organizations and faith-based groups" because they could help deal with the pandemic.

What will emerge today, Wensley said, is a "clear, succinct message," credible and easily read by people "outside of a U.N. context." This meant dropping whole slabs of agreed text from "Cairo" or "Beijing," she said.

The final text will be "strong in relations to women's rights, children, and young girls, reflecting the awareness that ran through the discussions that women and girls were particularly vulnerable and deserved special priority when it came to prevention.

Asked if there were any further changes to be expected in the text, Wensley told reporters that there will be no further negotiation: "The negotiations have run their course," although she and other co-facilitators "will consider whether there is anything else that could or should be done."

Most U.N. votes take place by consensus, but today's vote will take place in the General Assembly with every member voting.

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