UNAIDS Initiatives

The theme of the 1997 World AIDS Campaign was Children Living in a World with AIDS. The focus was on every human being under the age of 18 years, in line with the definition of children set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The guiding principles for the 1997 World AIDS Campaign were in line with those set forth in the Convention, and in the 1996-2000 UNAIDS Strategic Plan.

NGO partners for the 1997 World AIDS Campaign included the Children and AIDS International NGO Network, the Frans-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health, the NGO group for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and PANOS.

For the 1997 Campaign, UNAIDS and its partners and cosponsors produced and disseminated written and visual materials, and coordinated and contributed to activities globally. These culminated in World AIDS Day on 1 December.

In 1997 UNAIDS also:

· Developed a policy statement on HIV and Infant Feeding with WHO and UNICEF

· cosponsored a meeting on paediatric AIDS care with the European Union

· contributed a chapter on 'A World Perspective on HIV and AIDS in Children' to the third edition of Pediatric AIDS

· published a UNAIDS Guide to the United Nations Human Rights Machinery, which includes a comprehensive list of issues to be addressed in the country reports under the Convention on the Rights of the Child

· published a position paper on Integrating HIV/STD Prevention in the School Setting

· published Impact of HIV and Sexual Health Education on the Sexual Behaviour of Young People: A Review Update.

In addition to the six cosponsors, UNAIDS undertakes joint initiatives with other UN agencies. In 1996 a consultation of experts, convened jointly by UNAIDS and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, resulted in the preparation of International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. The Guidelines, contained in a report of the Secretary-General to the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/1997/37), make specific reference to children and HIV/AIDS. The dissemination and promotion of the Guidelines is a key component of UNAIDS activities in the field of human rights for 1998-1999.

In 1998 UNAIDS will continue to promote consensus and action on HIV/AIDS and children by convening inter-agency working groups on 'Integrating HIV/STD prevention in the school setting', and 'HIV/STD prevention among especially vulnerable young people.' UNAIDS will also continue to serve as the secretariat for the 'Informal working group on mother-to-child transmission of HIV', which brings together key institutions, UNAIDS and NGOs.

In 1998 the focus of the World AIDS Campaign will shift to young people aged 24 years. Within this age group are those aged 17, and UNAIDS activities in relation to these will continue to be guided by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Related UNAIDS activities will include the preparation and field testing of a model country report under the Convention on the Rights of the Child addressing HIV/AIDS.

In addition, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on AIDS or on human rights will be invited to contribute to the development of an NGO strategy for documenting best practices on HIV/AIDS and human rights as well as AIDS-related human rights abuses (January-February 1998). NGOs working with children and young people will be included in this consultation process as well as in a meeting of lead NGOs to be held in Geneva before the XIIth International Conference on AIDS (28 June-3 July 1998) at which the strategy will be discussed.

For more information, see the UNAIDS Web site (www.unaids.org) or contact:

Mark Connolly
Health Promotion Adviser
UNAIDS
20, avenue Appia
1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland
Tel: (41-22) 791 4461
Fax: (41-22) 791 4165
E-mail: connollymr@unaids.org