Download - Human Rights and HIV/AIDS (Sofia Gruskin)
Human Rights and HIV/AIDS
Sofia Gruskin“Time to Deliver”Wednesday August 9 2006
HIVand Human Rights:Making the Connections
Some HIV/AIDS-Related Rights
• The right to life, survival, and development
• The right to equality and non-discrimination
• The right to travel• The right to bodily integrity
and security of the person• The right to an identity • The right to privacy• The right to seek, receive
and impart information
• The right to food
• The right to health
• The right to housing
• The right to social security
• The right to be free from torture
• The right to association
• The right to the benefits of scientific progress
• The right to education
Program on International Health and Human Rights Harvard School of Public Health
HIV Related Stigma
HIV Related Discrimination
Program on International Health and Human Rights Harvard School of Public Health
HIV/AIDS Human Rights HIV/AIDS Human Rights HIV/AIDS Human Rights
Basic Conceptual Relationships
Program on International Health and Human Rights Harvard School of Public Health
Different Approaches To The Work Of HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
• Advocacy
• Legal Standards and Accountability
• Program design, implementation, and evaluation [a “rights-based
approach”] It is always important to be clear how rights language is being used and for what purpose.
International Human Rights Documents Relevant to HIV/AIDS
1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)*
1965 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination**
1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights**
1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights**
1979 International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women**
1985 Convention Against Torture**
1990 Convention on the Rights of the Child** 2002 International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All
Migrant Workers and Members of their Families **
* The UDHR is not a legally binding document, but has served as inspiration for, and incorporated into, all the human rights treaties that have followed.
** Legally binding on nations that have ratified
•International human rights law defines what governments can do to us, cannot do to us, and should do for us.
•Human rights law is meant to be equally applicable to everyone, everywhere in the world, across all borders and across all cultures and religions.
•Human rights are universal, interrelated and indivisible.
•Human rights are primarily about the relationship between the people and the state. International human rights law consists of the obligations that governments have agreed they have in order to be effective in promoting and protecting our rights.
•Every government in the world has committed to promoting and protecting rights in the context of HIV and AIDS.
What human rights are: definitional precepts
Program on International Health and Human Rights Harvard School of Public Health
Different Approaches To The Work Of HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
• Advocacy
• Legal Standards and Accountability
• Program design, implementation, and evaluation [a “rights-based
approach”] It is always important to be clear how rights language is being used and for what purpose.
A rights-based approach to HIV/AIDS refers to the processes of:
• Using human rights as a framework for policy and program development.
• Assessing and addressing the human rights implications of any HIV/AIDS-related policy, program or legislation.
• Making human rights an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS-related policies and programs.
Program on International Health and Human Rights Harvard School of Public Health
Critical Components of A Rights-Based Approach to HIV/AIDS
• Attention to the Legal and Policy Context
• Participation
• Non-discrimination
• The Right to Health (availability, accessibility, acceptability, quality)
• Transparency and Accountability
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS
• Prevention
• Care, Support and Treatment
• HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
• Reducing Vulnerability
• Children Orphaned and Made Vulnerable by HIV/AIDS
• Alleviating Social and Economic Impact
• Research and Development
• HIV/AIDS in Conflict and Disaster-affected Regions
• Resources
• Follow up:
- National Level
- Regional Level
- Global Level
Program on International Health and Human Rights Harvard School of Public Health
Concluding Points
Human rights are relevant to people infected, affected and vulnerable to HIV/AIDS. •The need to promote and protect human rights in the response to HIV/AIDS has been clearly spelled out in international sources.•A rights-based response to HIV and AIDS is the most effective.•Many presentations at this conference will raise human rights concerns. Be on the lookout for how human rights are considered in the actions being suggested.
Program on International Health and Human Rights Harvard School of Public Health