Date: Thu, 27 Oct 1994 13:14:24 -0400 From: David B. O'Donnell Subject: FRANCE: Paris AIDS Summit International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission Emergency Response Network NEW PARIS SUMMIT FOR THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS On December 1, 1994, the heads of government of 41 countries will meet in Paris to affirm their commitment to a worldwide mobilization against AIDS. The AIDS Summit is an initiative of the French Government and is co-organized with the World Health Organization. It will be the first summit to deal exclusively with AIDS and will thus declare from the highest political level the importance of activating all sectors of society in the fight against AIDS. The following governments have been invited to participate: Australia Bahamas Belgium Brazil Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada China Denmark Djibouti Finland France Germany India Indonesia Italy Ivory Coast Japan Mxico Morocco Mozambique Netherlands Norway Philippines Romania Russia Rwanda Senegal Spain Sweden Switzerland Tanzania Thailand Uganda United Kingdom United States Vietnam Zambia Zimbabwe During September and October there will be five preparatory meetings on prevention, blood safety, care and support of people affected by HIV/AIDS, research and treatments, and protecting vulnerable populations. The World Health Organization has invited the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) to attend the meeting on vulnerable populations in early October in Geneva. The recommendations of those meetings will then go on to a meeting in late October of government representatives to draft the final declaration to be signed in Paris on Dec. 1. In almost every country in the world, the prevention of homosexual transmission of HIV and care and support of lesbians, gay men and other sexual minorities living with HIV/AIDS are not given adequate attention or resources. Some countries deny that homosexuality exists, others say that it is not relevant or devote token amounts of money to it. Past international declarations such as the London Declaration of Ministers of Health, Recommendations of the III Ibero- American Conference, and the Riga Statement have either ignored or not had the political will to include gay communities, not to mention other affected communities. The ILGA AIDS Working Party wants to ensure that those responsible for drafting the final declaration are aware of the relevance and importance of including issues surrounding gay communities and HIV/AIDS. Please write letters mentioning the following points: 1. Prevention: Although AIDS can affect anyone, homosexually active men and women are often more vulnerable to infection. Governments must acknowledge this reality and commit resources in accordance with the actual epidemiology to prevent HIV infection in gay communities by developing non coercive, community controlled interventions directed specifically to them (include epidemiological statistics where available). 2. Care and Support: Lesbians, gays, and other sexual minorities are often given poor or inadequate health care due to discrimination by health care workers. Governments must make sure that lesbians, gays, and other sexual minorities are afforded equal health care and to enact measures to achieve that end. 3. Discrimination/legal issues: Ten years into the AIDS epidemic, experts agree that those who are discriminated against either legally or socially will be at a greater disadvantage to protect their health. This also applies to lesbians, gays and other sexual minorities. Governments must abolish any legal norms which criminalize homosexuality or its expression. Write to: Dr. Olivier Brasseur Coordinator Paris AIDS Summit 20 Ave. Appia Geneva 1211 Switzerland Fax: +41.22 791.4188 Dr. Bernard Debr Member of Parliament Coordinator Paris AIDS Summit Fax: + 33.1 4163.8369 Please copy your letters (fax if possible) to the ILGA AIDS Working Party, so that they may use them in ILGA's lobbying efforts. Ideally you could lobby your country representative whose address can be obtained from the ILGA AIDS Working Party. Jeffrey Stanton International Coordinator ILGA AIDS Working Party c/o Project Lambda Ave 32, No 14-46 Bogot'a, Colombia Fax: +57.1 287.9392 IGLHRC For more information contact us at tel. (415) 255-8660 fax (415) 255-8662 e-mail: iglhrc@igc.apc.org