In a joint statement, several prominent International human rights experts are urging governments to seize the opportunity of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Ending AIDS to recommit to and ensure the full respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights in the efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
The joint statement was signed by independent experts appointed by the Human Rights Council. In their statement, the experts acknowledge that progress made in the past decades in the AIDS response is partly due to the meaningful participation of communities. The statement says that, “Using the language and power of human rights, people living with HIV and human rights defenders have secured important legal and judicial victories against HIV-related discrimination and human rights violations.”
The experts acknowledge that people are still being left behind in the AIDS response, noting inequalities, compounded forms of discrimination, exclusion and other human rights violations.
Experts said in the statement, “Ending the AIDS epidemic in a way that leaves no one behind requires bold policies and reforms that reach out to populations that are deeply marginalized and criminalized … We have a historic opportunity not to be missed.”
The human rights experts recommended, among other things, removing punitive laws, policies and practices; preventing and addressing violence against and violations of rights of key populations; eliminating gender, HIV and key populations-related stigma and discrimination, especially in health-care, workplace and educational settings; and ensuring health services meet the right to health framework criteria of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality, and are delivered without discrimination.
