[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 14725]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL SEES HIV/AIDS AS GLOBAL CRISIS, NOT 
                         JUST A HEALTH PROBLEM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I am really here to join two 
previous speakers, the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee) and the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), who were with me today at the 
United Nations Security Council in New York where the United Nation's 
Security Council for the first time in history voted for a united 
effort and attack on the AIDS crisis in the world and saw it as a 
security problem, not just a health challenge before us. It recognized 
a that HIV/AIDS is more than a health problem but actually a global 
crisis. It set a very important target to work towards the reduction of 
AIDS by 25 percent by the year 2010 in the age group of 15 to 24.
  It was a very significant and ground-breaking action, but it is by no 
means an end. It is a beginning of many more steps that we have to 
take.
  Earlier in January, I was there when Vice President Gore announced 
his support for this effort, and I applaud the leadership, not only of 
the Vice President, but of Ambassador Holbrooke who have worked with 
the Security Council to bring it to the vote today on this important 
resolution.
  It will look at AIDS as a long-term and domestic policy. It will set 
up a tracking system around the world. It will focus on training and 
education around the world, but also on the peacekeepers, testing 
voluntarily the peacekeepers, and making them aware of the crisis and 
the harm that it can be to their own health and to many others.
  I might add that this body has also acted to combat the AIDS crisis. 
The Department of Defense legislation contained $10 million to really 
work, in a joint effort, with military organizations around the world 
to educate and combat AIDS. Just last week, in the Foreign Operations 
bill, there was a vote of $244 million for USAID to combat AIDS.
  I also applaud the hard work of the gentlewoman from California (Ms. 
Lee) on her ``Marshal Plan'' against AIDS, which was reported out of 
the Committee on Banking and Financial Services with strong bipartisan 
support with $100 million authorization for 1 year and $500 million 
over 5 years. That legislation is currently before the Senate. We hope 
it will likewise receive strong bipartisan support.
  I wanted to join my colleagues in really applauding the first-ever 
action by the Security Council in recognizing AIDS as a health problem, 
a security problem in our new world of interdependence and 
globalization, in a very positive step that they took today in passing 
out this resolution which I will place in the Record as follows:

             Draft Security Council Resolution on HIV/AIDS

       The Security Council,
       Recalling its meeting of 10 January 2000 chaired by the 
     Vice President of the United States, at which it was briefed 
     the President of the World Bank, the Administrator of the 
     United Nations Development Program, and the Executive 
     Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on the 
     connection between the spread of HIV/AIDS and peace and 
     security in Africa,
       Deeply concerned by the extent of the HIV/AIDS pandemic 
     worldwide and by the severity of the crisis in Africa in 
     particular,
       Bearing in mind that it has the primary responsibility 
     under the Charter of the United Nations for international 
     peace and security,
       Recalling in this context, the Statement of its President 
     on the role of the Security Council in the prevention of 
     armed conflicts (S/PRST/1999/34),
       Reaffirming the importance of a coordinated international 
     response to the economic, health, social, cultural and 
     humanitarian problems which are often the root causes of 
     armed conflict,
       Recognizing that the adverse effects of the spread of HIV/
     AIDS on all sectors of society, including individuals, 
     families, workers, political leadership, and the military, 
     have weakened the capacity of affected countries to maintain 
     domestic and regional peace and security,
       Further Recognizing that the spread and impact of the HIV/
     AIDS pandemic is greatly exacerbated by poverty and lack of 
     development,
       Further Recognizing that the HIV/AIDS pandemic not only 
     poses a threat to stability and security, but is also 
     exacerbated by conditions of violence and instability,
       Recognizing that HIV/AIDS poses a truly global risk to all 
     continents and peoples both civilian and military,
       Expressing Concern at the damaging impact of HIV/AIDS on 
     international peacekeeping operations.
       Welcoming the March report of the UN Special Committee on 
     Peacekeeping which affirmed the need to incorporate HIV/AIDS 
     prevention training in aspects of the UNDPKO training for 
     peacekeepers,
       Welcoming the Report of the Secretary-General for the 
     Millennium Assembly of the United Nations, and in particular, 
     those sections where he notes that the spread of HIV/AIDS is 
     a truly global crisis, that unless action is taken HIV/AIDS 
     will be even more damaging in the future, and his call for 
     coordinated and intensified international action to reduce 
     the rate of new HIV infections by 25% by the year 2010,
       Commending the efforts by UNAIDS to coordinate and 
     intensify the work of the world's states and the UN 
     organizations against the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
       Commending the efforts of the United Nations Department of 
     Peacekeeping Operations to address this issue, including 
     providing HIV/AIDS prevention awareness information to 
     peacekeepers through its train-the-trainers courses and 
     materials:
       1. Requests the Secretary-General ensure the provision of 
     mission-specific training of all peacekeepers on issues 
     related to the prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS, and 
     ensure the further development of pre-deployment and on-going 
     training of all peacekeepers on issues related to the 
     prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS,
       2. Urges all states to acknowledge the problem of HIV/AIDS 
     directly, including in uniformed national military forces, 
     and develop, in consultation with the international community 
     and UNAIDS, effective civilians and military personnel on the 
     prevention of the spread of HIV/AIDS,
       3. Urges all member states to institute voluntary and 
     confidential counseling and testing for HIV/AIDS for 
     civilians and members of uniformed national military forces, 
     especially for troops to be deployed to international 
     peacekeeping missions, because of the proven effects of 
     testing to reduce high-risk behaviors,
       4. Further urges countries to increase international 
     cooperation among national military organizations to assist 
     with the creation and execution of HIV/AIDS prevention, 
     testing and treatment policies within the militaries,
       5. Requests the Secretary General ensure that UNAIDS 
     cooperate with member states, including those states that 
     contribute peacekeeping troops, to establish voluntary 
     consultations and a database to track these countries' HIV/
     AIDS prevention education, testing, deployment, counseling 
     and treatment policies,
       6. Calls upon the leadership of all UN organizations to 
     address the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the context of their 
     organization's respective mandates and to adjust their 
     organization's activities accordingly to ensure they are 
     assisting wherever possible in the global efforts against the 
     HIV/AIDS pandemic
       Decides to remain seized of the matter and to continue to 
     seek information and guidance on this issue from all 
     appropriate sources.

                          ____________________


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