Press Releases

June 25, 2002

PARTICIPANTS OF THE XIV INTERNATIONAL AIDS CONFERENCE STILL ENCOUNTERING PROBLEMS: IS THE CONFERENCE PROGRAMME BEING WEAKENED DUE TO VISA ISSUES?

According to the Stuart Flavell, International Coordinator of the Global Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+), a community coorganiser of the XIV International AIDS Conference, "the Conference programme could be decimated unless some assurance is made on the part of the Spanish government that all visas for delegates will be granted in time."

Despite an electronic statement, diffused to various interested parties, from the office of the Secretary of the National Plan on AIDS of the Spanish Ministry of Sanitation and Consumption asserting that "all those included in the lists sent by Congrex, Conference Secretariat, or Community Department are not facing problems regarding their visas", irregularities have occurred.

After the Spanish NGO community, represented by Red2002, brought to the fore the problems participants had encountered in obtaining visas, a GNP+ member and delegate from Colombia, who had been initially told he would have to wait six months to receive a visa, was given 17 hour notice to fly from a provincial capital to attend an early morning meeting at the Spanish Consulate in Bogotá. At that meeting, he was told that he could obtain a visa on the condition that he bought health insurance, despite his having an official letter from GNP+ guaranteeing his health care coverage during the Conference.

In another case, a GNP+ delegate from Kenya, was asked for evidence of coverage of his medical expenses at the Conference as well as evidence that he has personal resources sufficient to cover per diem expenses while in Barcelona, and again, despite his bearing an official letter assuring that GNP+ would be responsible for his medical care and daily expenditures there.

These two delegates from GNP+ are a track rapporteur and a presenter in the senior lecture series, respectively. Without them, the Conference Programme would suffer. Their ability to come to Barcelona is due to their sheer tenacity and resourcefulness. How many participants, speakers and presenters from developing countries are in the same type of situation or worse?

The government of Spain, in assuming the role of host and sponsor of scholarships for this event, made a commitment to the Conference, its participants, and more broadly, to the persons affected by HIV and AIDS throughout the world. For the average delegate, the failure of Spain’s diplomatic stations to provide the visas necessary for persons to enter Spain in a timely and consistent fashion can only be interpreted as a breach of that commitment. In not keeping its word, the Spanish government is jeopardizing the Conference and causing all those involved to fail to meet their responsibilities to others living with HIV and AIDS. On moral and practical grounds, this is a position we cannot tolerate. Governments must not be obstacles in the global movement to end the pandemic.

The government of Spain must keep its word and act immediately to ensure that each of its diplomatic stations accords Conference participants the right to enter Spain without barriers. "This Conference must go through as planned. It provides so much hope and knowledge for the world’s fight on AIDS, a fight that has never been so urgent.", stated Mr. Flavell.

Press release issued by:
Jennifer M. Bushee, Communications Coordinator
Global Network of People living with HIV/AIDS (GNP+)