G8’s Promise Breaking on AIDS ‘Morally Unacceptable,’ Says Global Petition
Heiligendamm, Germany, June 7, 2007—Today AIDS activists presented the G8 leaders with a special petition from concerned people worldwide, which focused on the issues of AIDS, health care systems, and access to basic education. The petition signatures were gathered during just 20 days preceding the G8 summit.
"Two weeks ago, when we heard the G8 leaders might fail to reaffirm their promises on HIV/AIDS, we jumped into action," said Dr. Paul Zeitz, Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance. "Working with a range of groups across the world, we gathered 10,000 signatures in just 20 days time, to send a clear message that there must be no backtracking by the G8 on these issues. Today we are delivering this message. Together, we demand real action from the G8, not hype and phony promises."
The petition says the G8 leaders must agree on a financing plan to reach the promise of universal access to all AIDS services by 2010, fully support a coordinated plan to strengthen health systems, and provide full funding for education, to give every child the chance to go to school. As the petition itself says, 'Breaking these promises is morally unacceptable.' The petition was endorsed and circulated by a wide range of groups from the US, UK, Germany, France, Canada, Japan, India, Rwanda, Tanzania, Cameroon, Costa Rica, and Argentina.
The petition was signed by a number of prominent individuals, including Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Elton John, Iman, Alicia Keys, Jessica Alba, Liv Tyler, and Padma Lakshmi. US religious leaders Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rabbi Michael Lerner also signed the petition.
Achbishop Tutu stated: "The promises the G8 make about helping the poor are promises that must be kept. We must make sure these leaders know we mean business and that we intend to keep these issues in mind whenever we vote."
In addition to these prominent signers, thousands of people from 138 different countries also signed the petition. The largest group of signers were people from the United States, concerned that the G8 leaders, including President Bush, were reneging on the promises made in 2005. Canadians also signed in large numbers.
The message of the petition is timely. G8 negotiators are still haggling over whether to reaffirm the universal access commitment or weaken it significantly. Some delegations have been arguing that the G8 should set a target that would mean only 50% access to treatment by 2010. Last week, President Bush issued a proposal that would mean a radical scaling back of the proportion of AIDS treatment provided by the US.
More than one million people have signed a much broader petition to the G8 sponsored by the Global Coalition against Poverty (GCAP). The GCAP petition also makes a clear demand that the G8 should deliver on education and health care for all, and it urges leaders to keep the promise that no one should go without treatment for AIDS by 2010.