EU Explanation of Vote: UN General Assembly: 2026 Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS - United to End AIDS by 2030

President, Excellencies, 

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

We would like to thank Georgia and Botswana for co-facilitating this process in a very short timeframe and in a challenging context.

As mentioned in the General Debate yesterday, the EU remains steadfast in its commitment to multilateralism and sustained global action against HIV/AIDS, recognising it as an enduring worldwide challenge that demands a unified, international response. 

The fight against HIV/AIDS is not just about declarations or targets—it is about people. The EU will not waver in standing with them. We will continue to push for a response that is ambitious, multisectoral, rights-based, human-centred and rooted in science and evidence.

This is the way we have approached these negotiations and our support to the Declaration today.

President, Excellencies,

In that context, we must start by saying that we deeply regret that the overall balance and ambition of the text that we have adopted is weaker compared to the Political Declaration in 2021. 

We believe that the human rights-based approach is essential for a response to HIV/AIDS that puts people at the centre. While we have successfully fought to ensure that there are no caveats to international human rights commitments, the human rights based approach has overall been weakened in a way that is unacceptable for us. In order to end HIV and AIDS as a public health threat by 2030, a genuinely impactful approach must place the most vulnerable at its core while championing human rights and gender equality and tackling stigma and discrimination – there must be a strong focus on key populations, adolescent girls and young women and broader communities. We also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the role of civil society and community-led organisations in the fight against HIV/AIDS, which are often at the forefront. 

There are setbacks related to this in the text that will make its impact fragile.

However, given the political importance of having a Political Declaration at this High-Level Meeting that can help action on the ground, the EU and its Member States have decided to support the Political Declaration and we are committed to ensuring the response continues to be strong and ambitious.

President, Excellencies,

Having said this, and regrettably, there are several elements that continue to represent strong red lines for the EU and its Member States and which make our support conditioned:

First, the Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031, which is evidence based and adopted by the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board must guide our response to HIV/AIDS. We dissociate from any references to targets or objectives that are not aligned with the Global AIDS Strategy – in particular those that do not respect the human rights based approach the Strategy has taken. We cannot reaffirm our commitment to ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 while simultaneously challenging the strategic framework designed to get us there.          
Second, we have to continue to dissociate from uncaveated references to technology transfer in the text. We stress that technology transfer can only be undertaken on a voluntary basis and on mutually agreed terms. This is essential to securing the most adequate and efficient response to future pandemics.

Similarly, we also have to dissociate from paragraph 86. The EU and its Member States can only recognise references to the World Trade Organization Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health that are comprehensive and fully aligned to its text.

We also have the same concerns more generally with the section on Access to medicines, technology and innovation which is imbalanced, including on price and cost issues, and, while we support the overall political declaration in order to be constructive, we consider that paras 81-87 do not set a precedent for future negotiations.

Third, the EU and its Member States also have to dissociate from paragraph 41 which is not the exact verbatim reference of the Pact for the Future on unilateral economic measures that was carefully negotiated and agreed in an overall context of balance.

President, Excellencies,

We would like to reaffirm that the transition to health sovereignty, with country ownership at its core, is essential to achieve sustainable financing and impactful health outcomes. In line with the Sevilla Commitment, strong partnerships and international financing can act as an important complement to support this transition. We regret that the text does not sufficiently recognise the importance of a progressive transition to health sovereignty and that the necessary coherence with important global health initiatives has not been included in the text. We stress that our references on these matters remain the Sevilla Commitment and the Global AIDS Strategy 2026-2031 - which is not reflected in the text before us.

 In this regard the EU will continue to cooperate with partner countries in areas of mutual interest, on the basis of solidarity, accountability, and human rights – strengthening the resilience of health systems and addressing the root causes of ill health, which is fundamental to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Finally, we believe that the text does not sufficiently take into account current realities, including the reform ambitions expressed in the UN80 initiative as well as the ongoing UNAIDS transition.

President, Excellencies,

While the text before us today falls short in many places, our resolve does not. The EU is fully and unreservedly committed to the overarching objective of the Political Declaration, which is to tackle HIV/AIDS as a public health threat and support people living with, at risk of or affected by HIV/AIDS, with a particular focus on key populations and with the support of civil society and community-led organisations. 

To those listening today who are living with HIV, or who have lost loved ones to this scourge: we see you. We hear you. And we will keep fighting—with you and for you—until this disease is no longer a threat to anyone, anywhere – leaving no one behind.

Thank you.