Human Rights Protection and AIDS
Human Rights Watch Critical of the United Nations
Human Rights Watch recently released a report criticizing the United Nations for not doing enough to protect human rights in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Human Rights Watch recently blasted the United Nations for failing to address the issue of human rights violations that have contributed to the spread of HIV "(Compromised Intentions: The 2006 UN. High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS and its Failure to Address the Human Rights Abuses Fueling the Pandemic,)" released August 14, 2006).
The current focus on the AIDS pandemic, as highlighted by the recent International AIDS Conference in Toronto, is squarely on the social, political, and economic factors that have facilitated the spread of AIDS.
AIDS has flourished in places where people are discriminated against, marginalized, lack access to proper resources and information, and are without human security and stability. Given that these factors are such strong determinants for the spread of AIDS, it is clear that the protection of human rights plays a crucial role in the curtailing of the AIDS spread.
In the report, Human Rights Watch details how human rights abuses can contribute to the AIDS spread in countless ways:
- When drug users are harassed and prevented from accessing clean needles (e.g. Ukraine), AIDS spreads.
- When people are denied HIV medications and treatments (e.g. Jamaica), AIDS spreads.
- When people are given misinformation about condom use and HIV infection (e.g. U.S and Ugandan-funded evangelical groups) AIDS spreads.
- And when women lack economic, personal, and sexual autonomy (all over the world), AIDS spreads.
The relationship between human rights and AIDS has been acknowledged by UN agencies since the 1980s and led to the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS by the General Assembly Special Session. However, by 2006, few of the goals of the Declaration had been met by member states to improve human rights protections.
Human Rights Watch's main criticism of the 2006 UN High Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS is that it does not contain any quantifiable goals. For example, civil society lobbied that a "10 by 10" goal be included, i.e. ten million people treated for HIV/AIDS by 2010. Fifty-three African states signed the African Common Position paper, which called for a goal of treatment and prevention for 80% of people.
However, even with these shortcoming and the fact that the Declaration rung more of compromise than of vision, there are still crucial elements which can be built upon. Namely, the focus on women, children, and socially marginalized groups should set the framework for progress and the participation of civil society.
