Washington File - March 8, 2000

Holbrooke, who appeared before the Committee on Banking and Financial Services in the U.S. House of Representatives, reminded the lawmakers, in his written testimony, that "the very fact that your committee is holding these hearings today demonstrates the urgency of this crisis and the Congress' sustained commitment to stem it. ..."

"It is increasingly clear," he warned, "that few issues are as threatening to global economic prosperity and development, international security, and our common humanity as the threat presented by HIV/AIDS.

"It's not just a health issue; it's a diplomatic and security issue; it's a trade issue; it's an economic issue; and it's a human rights issue," he noted.

He termed the AIDS virus a "growing concern" in places like Russia and South Asia, but warned that "no region or issue is immune."

Focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, Holbrooke said, "Nowhere is the disease's impact more evident. ...

"Although the crescent of states from Kenya to South Africa has only 10 percent of the world's population, it has over two-thirds of the world's HIV positive people and nearly 85 percent of all AIDS deaths. The disease kills 10 times more people in sub-Saharan Africa annually -- more than 2.6 million last year alone -- than all of the continent's armed conflicts combined."

Ambassador Holbrooke then cited the January 10 United Nations Security Council session chaired by Vice President Gore, the first to solely address the African AIDS crisis in more than 4,000 security council meetings.

He called on all United Nations agencies to be more aware of the impact of AIDS and said the United Nations would have to back its words with deeds. He also cited United Nations peacekeepers in the fight against HIV/AIDS, saying they "unintentionally contribute to another serious problem, the spread of AIDS."

Additionally, Holbrooke called on the United States to exercise an even higher level of leadership in the international fight against AIDS and said that with that leadership should come a "greater commitment of resources."

The United States, he noted, should be proud that it is the largest donor of international assistance for HIV/AIDS, but, he said, "We must do more."

He also called on national governments to do more to end stigmatization associated with the disease.

It is only through partnership, he told the lawmakers, that the fight against HIV/AIDS can be won.

Holbrooke appeared before the committee as it began a debate on legislation that would help create a trust fund that would be administered by the World Bank to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Following is the text of Holbrooke's remarks, as prepared for delivery: (begin text)

Statement for the Record

Committee on Banking and Financial Services U.S. House of Representatives March 8, 2000 Richard C. Holbrooke United States Ambassador to the United Nations

Mr. Chairman, I am grateful for the honor of testifying before our committee this morning. Your work and that of other members f this committee, including Congresswoman Barbara Lee, has been bsolutely crucial to shaping our government's response to what believe is one of the greatest global pandemics of our time -- IV/AIDS. Close cooperation between the Congress and the xecutive Branch is always critical -- and it has been one of my ighest priorities as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations -- ut it is no more important than when facing an international hreat on the scale of HIV/AIDS. The very fact that your ommittee is holding these hearings today demonstrates the rgency of this crisis and the Congress' sustained commitment to tem it.

I'd also like to recognize two of my valued colleagues who have joined me here this afternoon. Sandy Thurman, the Director of President Clinton's Office of National AIDS policy, and Tim Geithner, the Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, are two of the Executive Branch's most insightful and important officials on HIV/AIDS. Day in and day out, they're on the front lines of this battle. So with that background, I expect that during the question and answer session, they'll handle all your tough questions.

Mr. Chairman, I am not an AIDS expert. My expertise is diplomacy, not science or medicine. Up until a few months ago, I did not follow the back-and-forth of AIDS policy much more than any other concerned citizen. But it is increasingly clear that few issues are as threatening to global economic prosperity and development, international security, and our common humanity as the threat presented by HIV/AIDS. It's not just a health issue; it's a diplomatic and security issue; it's a trade issue; it's an economic issue; and it's a human rights issue.

AIDS is a growing concern in places like Russia and South Asia. As Monday's Washington Post story about the connection between the illegal drug trade and HIV in Southeast Asia highlights, no region or issue is immune. But nowhere is the disease's impact more evident than in sub-Saharan Africa. AIDS threatens a broad swath of African states, endangering millions of lives. Although the crescent of states from Kenya to South Africa has only 10% of the world's population, it has over two-thirds of the world's HIV positive people and nearly 85% of all AIDS deaths. The disease kills ten times more people in sub-Saharan Africa annually -- more than 2.6 million last year alone -- than all of the continent's armed conflicts combined.

Last December, in an eleven-day, ten-nation mission to Africa, our delegation made the AIDS crisis, along with the conflict in the Congo, the top issue on our agenda. We returned home with a vivid understanding of the scope and degree of this truly horrible crisis. In Africa, our delegation saw first-hand the terrible costs reaped by AIDS -- from the thousands of orphans in Lusaka, Zambia, who were forced to live in a bus depot, many of whom were already infected with HIV; to the six pregnant women in Windhoek, Namibia, all of whom were infected with AIDS and who had to meet with our delegation secretly because of the stigmatization associated with the disease. These women told us that if they even admitted their ailment, they would lose their husbands and families, their jobs, and be completely ostracized from society. Under such circumstances, these women are simply left to die.

Mr. Chairman, it is for this reason that on January 10th, Vice President Gore convened the first Security Council session of the 21st century, solely to address AIDS as a security threat. After 4,086 Security Council meetings, this was the first to ever discuss a "health issue." The Security Council formally acknowledged what many of us (including many members of this committee) have long argued -- that post-Cold War international security is about more than guns and bombs and the balance of power. Vice President Gore, whose presence was indispensable to our success, put it eloquently: AIDS is a security crisis, he said, "because it threatens not just individual citizens, but the very institutions that define and defend the character of a society."

This Security Council sparked a wide range of action to fight AIDS not only in Africa, but around the world. Many of our UN partners are equally seized with the issue. UN Secretary-General Annan is very active, as are the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the UN Development Program (UNDP), both of which have already held important follow-up sessions on the issue. Peter Piot, the head of UNAIDS, the UN's leading body on this issue, told me recently that what has happened at the UN over the past few months - with international attention focused on AIDS and with a new surge of momentum to do more -- was what he had dreamed for since taking the job.

Now, the UN and all its member states must back their words with deeds. We have urged the United Nations to address this issue system-wide; we have insisted that the battle against AIDS become a core part of every agency; we have asked every UN organization to recognize and fulfill its responsibility to do what it can to fight AIDS; and we have called on the Security Council to do more to address the tragic relationship between AIDS, conflict, and peacekeeping. All too often, the sad truth is that at times, in trying to solve one problem (such as preventing a war from breaking out or containing conflict), UN peacekeepers unintentionally contribute to another serious problem, the spread of AIDS. Peacekeepers need to be better trained and educated about the dangers of spreading AIDS. We must insist that the UN peacekeeping department (DPKO) do a better job. The Security Council, for its part, should work toward a resolution that describes and responds to the impact of AIDS as a cause and consequence of security crises. And let me be clear: as long as I am Ambassador, the U.S. will never again vote for a peacekeeping resolution that does not require specific action by the UNDPKO to prevent AIDS from spreading by or to peacekeepers.

Along with these steps in New York, Mr. Chairman, the U.S. must also back its own words with deeds. It's not enough just to admit that AIDS is a global problem. The international community is looking to us for leadership. Working in close collaboration with Congress, we look forward to providing it.

Mr. Chairman, the momentum created over the past few months is an important opportunity, one that requires American leadership. Working together, Congress and the Administration should seek a lead role in the international effort to fight HIV/AIDS. This is an area where we can use our national strengths (in science, in resources, and in international influence) to help deliver a global good of unambiguous positive effect. First, and most urgently, this means a greater commitment of resources. It's no secret that the level of international resources dedicated to fighting AIDS is far too low by an order of magnitude. According to World Bank President Jim Wolfensohn, the current level of official international assistance for AIDS prevention in Africa is only $160 million.

We should be proud that the U.S. is the largest donor of international development assistance for HIV/AIDS. But we must do more. In last January's Security Council session, Vice President Gore announced that we would ask Congress' support for another $100 million to fight the epidemic, bringing our total this year to $342 million. But we recognize that that's not enough. In the coming months, we look forward to working with many of you to seek higher levels of support by all donors. And we will continue to work through diplomatic channels to energize our G-8 colleagues, UNAIDS, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and other international organizations, the private sector, as well as the leaders of every country in the world to improve coordination and bring more financial and political commitment to this global fight.

Second, national governments must also do more to end the stigmatization associated with HIV/AIDS. As I stated earlier, this stigmatization was one of the most striking aspects of what our delegation saw in Africa. In too many places, families (and many doctors) even refuse to recognize AIDS as a cause of death. Often, they'll cover it up by attributing death to AIDS-related illnesses like pneumonia. Many infected Africans do not even know they are infected. We therefore have a pandemic time-bomb waiting to explode.

The United States' own history shows that through education, we can curb the stigmatization problem, and slow the spread of this pandemic. We still have a ways to go, but in the last decade, we have made significant progress in fighting AIDS, due in part to the brave public stands and courageous examples of both the living and the dead, from Magic Johnson and Elizabeth Glaser, to Arthur Ashe and Ryan White. Some countries, like Uganda and Thailand, have begun to deal with this problem through openness and education. These examples show that with AIDS, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Pretending that AIDS does not exist will only make the crisis worse.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, we must accept the fact that governments can only do so much. The challenges presented by AIDS far surpass the abilities of governments alone. Therefore, it's critical that we empower and energize the private sector to take action and build partnerships against AIDS.

Last month, Vice President Gore announced an initiative for an expanded public-private partnership, including working with the private sector to develop a set of voluntary principles for corporate conduct to promote AIDS education and prevention. My team at the UN has begun to open a dialogue with donor organizations and other private groups to improve cooperation. And both President Clinton and Vice President Gore are planning to play a personal role in developing these ties further.

Mr. Chairman, the only way we can win the fight against AIDS is by acting through partnership -- partnership among the community of nations; partnership between public and private sectors; and partnership between Congress and the Executive Branch. The costs of inaction are simply too high. Let there be no doubt that the challenge ahead is great. There will be no quick fixes. But I am hopeful that if we can bring to this fight our shared sense of purpose and commitment; if we help support science's search for a cure; and if by acting together, the Congress and the Executive Branch can provide sustained, steadfast U.S. leadership to intensify global action and improve international coordination -- we can help save the world's next generation of children from this deadly scourge.

I thank you and your distinguished colleagues for the opportunity to appear before this committee to discuss such an important issue. We look forward to working with you in the days ahead. (end text)

(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: usinfo.state.gov)
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