The first meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Advisory Group on HIV/AIDS was held in Geneva on 18 and 19 September 2006 under the chairmanship of Dr. Elioda Tumwesigye, Chairperson of the HIV/AIDS Committee of the Parliament of Uganda. The Group met to discuss the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the need for greater involvement of parliaments in scaling up the worldwide struggle against the disease.

The members agreed that the Group’s major focus should be advocacy - primarily within parliaments - to improve understanding of HIV/AIDS among parliamentarians, and subsequently to influence governments and the general public.

The Group agreed that parliamentary oversight in the fight against HIV/AIDS should include field visits, scrutiny of compliance with the commitments contained in the outcome document of the 2006 United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS), and monitoring of observance of the UNGASS reporting process.

It also decided to update the 1999 IPU/UNAIDS Handbook for Legislators on HIV/AIDS, Law and Human Rights, in conjunction with UNAIDS, which could then be used as a training tool for regional and sub-regional training workshops for parliamentarians.

The members agreed to develop a compendium of all bodies working within national parliaments on the subject of HIV/AIDS and to carry out a survey of existing HIV/AIDS-related legislation.

The current members of the Advisory Group, all legislators actively involved in HIV/AIDS work in their national parliaments, are from Brazil, India, Philippines, Russia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sweden, Uganda and the United Kingdom. Three United Nations bodies, UNAIDS, UNDP and UNICEF, were also represented at the meeting.

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Established in 1889 and with its Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the IPU, the oldest multilateral political organisation, currently brings together 146 affiliated parliaments and seven regional assemblies as associate members. The world organisation of parliaments has an Office in New York, which acts as its Permanent Observer at the United Nations.
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