- About UNAIDS
- Our work
- Targets and commitments
- 2011 Political Declaration: Targets and elimination commitments
- Reducing sexual transmission
- Preventing HIV among drug users
- Eliminating new HIV infections among children
- 15 million accessing treatment
- Avoiding TB deaths
- Closing the resource gap
- Eliminating gender inequalities
- Eliminating stigma and discrimination
- Eliminating travel restrictions
- Strengthening HIV integration
- 2011 Political Declaration: Targets and elimination commitments
More feature stories on punitive laws
- The judiciary and the AIDS response
- The AIDS epidemic has raised new and complex legal and human rights challenges leading to judicial rulings on matters related to HIV that have become part of the jurisprudence of many countries. Through interpretation of national constitutions, legislation and international human rights treaties, the judiciary has sometimes had a transformative and beneficial impact on the national response to HIV and on the public perception of HIV.
- UNAIDS addresses UN Human Rights Council on the impact of punitive laws on HIV
- As part of the 14th session of the UN Human Rights Council taking place in Geneva from 31 May-18 June 2010, the Council held on 4 June 2010 an interactive debate with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health, the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty, and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.
- Report calls for urgent scale-up of MSM strategies to prevent HIV in Asia Pacific
- A report on HIV among men who have sex with men and transgender people in the Asia-Pacific region has called for urgent scale-up of strategies to prevent the transmission of HIV, and to ensure greater access to treatment, care and support for those already in need.
- Punitive laws limit access to HIV prevention and care services in Asia Pacific
- More than 90 per cent of men having sex with men (MSM) in the Asia-Pacific region do not have access to HIV prevention and care services due to an adverse legal and social environment. If countries fail to address the legal context of the epidemic, this already critical situation is likely to become worse. The implementation of effective, human rights-based national HIV responses requires governments to consider the effect of laws and law enforcement practices on the health of men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender persons.
- Spotlight on human rights at the 5th Francophone Conference on AIDS
- Human rights and law will be in the spotlight at the 5th Francophone Conference on AIDS held in Casablanca, Morocco from 28 to 31 March 2010. The conference is taking place against a backdrop of continuing discrimination and human rights infringement of people living with HIV across the world. There are reports of harassment, prosecution of and violence against people living with HIV in several francophone countries.
- Universal access in the Caribbean must include men who have sex with men
- Although the Caribbean as a region has the second highest HIV prevalence after sub-Saharan Africa, most countries have concentrated epidemics which disproportionately affect certain groups including gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM). In many countries men who have sex with men experience considerable social stigma and are not reached with vital HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services. Not only are men afraid of disclosing their sexual activity, they are also deterred from finding out what they need to know to reduce their risk or to buy condoms.
- UN Human Rights Council and HIV
- UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé met with UN Human Rights Council President Ambassador Martin Uhomoibhi on 11 March. The Tenth Session of the Human Rights Council is currently taking place in Geneva.
- Power of words: Brazil LGBT launch guide for media
- The Brazilian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transvestite and Transsexual (LGBT) Association (Associação Brasileira de Gays, Lésbicas, Bissexuais, Travestis e Transexuais or ABGLT) recently launched an “LGBT Communication Manual” aimed at communication professionals, students and teachers to reduce the use of inappropriate language that prejudices, or perpetuates misunderstandings about the millions Brazilian LGBT people and their supporters.
- Fiji first Pacific Island nation with colonial-era sodomy laws to formally to decriminalize homosexuality
- Marking a significant step towards achieving the country’s universal access goals, Fiji passed a law decriminalizing consensual homosexuality through the Fiji National Crimes Decree on 1 February 2010. With this legislation Fiji becomes the first Pacific Island nation with colonial-era sodomy laws to formally decriminalize sex between men.
- UNAIDS takes action to empower women and girls to protect themselves from HIV
- New York/Geneva, 2 March 2010 – UNAIDS, together with celebrated artist and activist for women and HIV, Annie Lennox, has launched an Agenda for Accelerated Country Action for Women, Girls, Gender Equality and HIV (2010–2014), which has been developed to address gender inequalities and human rights violations that continue to put women and girls at risk of HIV infection.
- UNAIDS, Annie Lennox, launch action framework for women, girls and HIV
- Globally, women and girls continue to be affected disproportionately by HIV. Artist and political and social activist Annie Lennox together with UNAIDS Executive Director Mr Michel Sidibé launched the Agenda for Accelerated County Action in order to bring global political attention to the well-being of women and girls today.
- CONCASIDA opens with spotlight on needs of young people
- The Sixth Central American Congress on HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (CONCASIDA) will take place in San Jose, Costa Rica from 1-5 March 2010 with the theme "Youth: for my right to know and decide".
- UN Secretary-General applauds the removal of entry restrictions based on HIV status by United States of America and Republic of Korea
- UNAIDS strongly welcomes the elimination of travel restrictions based on HIV status by the Republic of Korea, effective 1 January 2010. It also commends the United States for full implementation of the final rule that removes entry restrictions which means that travellers living with HIV can freely enter the United States of America as of today.
- South African Muppet Kami speaks the language of acceptance
- Sesame Street fans across the world are celebrating the 40th anniversary of the popular children’s television programme this year. In South Africa, the programme’s local version called Takalani Sesame is revelling in the popularity of its mustard-coloured furry Muppet, Kami, who is openly living in HIV.
- Eminent African Jurists discuss HIV and the law
- A three-day meeting to highlight the role of the judiciary in the response to HIV has concluded in Johannesburg. The gathering co-hosted by UNAIDS, UNDP, International Association of Women Judges and the International Commission of Jurists was attended by 30 judges from a diverse range of African countries and legal traditions.
- Peru: New campaign to counter stigma and discrimination towards people living with HIV
- A new campaign has been launched to counter the stigma and discrimination experienced by people living with HIV in Peru- The joint advocacy initiative is supported by UNAIDS, UNDP and the Peruvian Press Council.
- Human Rights Day - Partnering with men to stop human rights violations against women
- Each year, Human Rights Day marks the culmination of 16 days of activism to end violence against women when groups from around the world come together to eradicate this threat to the health and wellbeing of women and girls. This year, UNFPA has launched a publication which highlights the crucial role men can play.
- Secretary-General's Message for Human Rights Day 2009
- No country is free of discrimination. We see it everywhere, in many forms: old and new, covert and blatant, public and private. It may appear as institutionalized racism, as ethnic strife, as episodes of intolerance and rejection, or as an official national version of history that denies the identity of others.
- Developing indicators on HIV-related stigma and discrimination
- Great strides have been made in recent years in understanding HIV-related stigma and discrimination – how to measure it and how to reduce it. However, the wide diversity of measures used to measure the causes, levels and consequences of stigma makes it difficult to compare prevalence of stigma across setting and populations. In addition, the lack of standardised indicators at the programme, national and global levels has been a significant barrier to scale up stigma reduction programmes.
- United Kingdom rollout The People Living with HIV Stigma Index
- An index that documents the stigma experienced by people living with HIV in the country has been launched at the Houses of Parliament, London, United Kingdom.