[Viva] Fwd: UNAIDS – No More Apologies – Sidibé Must Go!

Fri May 11 07:55:13 PDT 2018

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From: AIDS Healthcare Foundation <info at aidshealth.org>
Date: Fri, May 11, 2018, 12:19 AM
Subject: UNAIDS – No More Apologies – Sidibé Must Go!
To: <dbecker106 at gmail.com>

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*UN Secretary-General Must Act as Leadership Crisis Consumes UNAIDS*

*Women activists confront UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé in South
Africa saying under his leadership, UNAIDS cannot repair its reputation and
fight a disease that disproportionately affects women; Apologies Are Too
Little, Too Late – Michel Sidibé Must Go!*

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA (May 11, 2018) UNAIDS Executive Director Michel
Sidibé has decided to stick to his post for as long as possible despite
calls for him to resign over mishandling
<https://aidshealth.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c9cc60b503c0abe5e811e4f2&id=acb0ce5928&e=3b31162bd4>
sexual harassment allegations against his former deputy director and
alleged attempts to cover up and meddle with the subsequent investigation.
Inexplicably, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has voiced his full
confidence
<https://aidshealth.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c9cc60b503c0abe5e811e4f2&id=008ab91458&e=3b31162bd4>
in the beleaguered executive director and has done little to address the
agency’s deteriorating leadership crisis.

Secretary-General Guterres will only be able to ignore appeals by civil
society for so long, as the pressure on Sidibé to step down continues to
grow. Most recently, editor-in-chief of The Lancet
<https://aidshealth.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c9cc60b503c0abe5e811e4f2&id=d696d0bbb8&e=3b31162bd4>
Dr. Richard Horton has called for the UNAIDS chief to be suspended.

Sidibé, who is accustomed to receiving accolades and praise around the
world, was met by an angry crowd of over 100 South African women activists
on May 9, outside the Pan-African Parliament near Johannesburg. Their
shouts, dances and signs were deafening as they delivered an unequivocal
message – Michel Sidibé must go.

Sidibé was overcome with emotion when he came outside to face the
protesters after they had been chanting for two hours. The women encircled
him and read aloud demands outlined in a recent letter by 23 feminists
<https://aidshealth.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c9cc60b503c0abe5e811e4f2&id=1d62f2b28d&e=3b31162bd4>,
which included a call for leadership change and substantive reforms on
sexual harassment policies and practices within UNAIDS. The letter became a
de facto memorandum for the protest after more than 100 activists endorsed
it at the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) Civil Society Forum
session immediately prior to the demonstration.

Sidibé was visibly taken aback by the confrontation with the group and
meekly stood by while the memorandum was read aloud. The group informed him
that they intended to hold a press conference the following day to brief
the media on their demands. Sidibé asked to meet with key activists prior
to the press conference, a request which the group granted.

In the meeting on May 10, a small group of African feminist activists,
including women leaders from Treatment Action Campaign, Positive Women's
Network, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and other prominent organizations
once again met with Sidibé and pressed him to step down.

The group criticized him for failing to implement real reforms beyond his
so-called five-point plan to address harassment at UNAIDS. They
characterized the plan as a public relations smoke screen and reiterated
their firm support for Martina Brostrom
<https://aidshealth.us15.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c9cc60b503c0abe5e811e4f2&id=ec850ba2f6&e=3b31162bd4>,
a UNAIDS employee who first made public allegations of sexual harassment
against Louis Loures, Sidibé’s former deputy director, in March 2018.

“[Sidibé] arrived early for the meeting looking fairly trepidatious,
listened to concerns and grievances raised, then he apologized specifically
for his mishandling of the situation – but indicated that he will not
tender his resignation,” said Larissa Klazinga, AHF Policy and Advocacy
Manager for Southern Africa, who attended the meeting. “As activists we
were conscious to not allow the meeting to be co-opted or have it be used
as a PR stunt. We concluded the meeting and resolved to consult with the
original group of 23 women
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on further actions.”

“As pressure continues to mount on Mr. Sidibé to step down, his refusal to
do so only prolongs what has turned into an expensive crisis management
exercise for UNAIDS public relations – we urge Secretary-General to
intervene immediately,” said Terri Ford, AHF Chief of Global Advocacy and
Policy. “With a growing number of sexual harassment and abuse claims
surfacing across several UN agencies, UNAIDS would do well to quickly bring
the scandal to a close by dismissing Mr. Sidibé and embarking on a program
of real, comprehensive reforms. In light of his deplorable actions, remorse
and apologies are too little, too late. He needs to step down now.”

*AIDS Healthcare Foundation* (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization,
currently provides medical care and/or services to over 894,000 individuals
in 39 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the
Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please
visit our website: www.aidshealth.org
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