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GHRO Inc policy on HIV/AIDS

International Guidelines On HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
U.N.C.H.R. Resolution 1997/33,
U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/1997/150 (1997).

The protection of human rights in the context of Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

The Commission on Human Rights,
Recalling its resolution 1996/43 of 19 April 1996 and other relevant resolutions and decisions adopted by organizations of the United Nations system, as well as by other competent forums,

Emphasizing, in view of the continuing challenges presented by HIV/AIDS, the need for intensified efforts to ensure universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, to reduce vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and to prevent HIV/AIDS-related discrimination and stigma,

Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on the Second International Consultation on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights (E/CN.4/1997/37), which presents the outcome of the Consultation, including the Guidelines recommended by the expert participants for States on the promotion and protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in the context of HIV/AIDS, and strategies for their dissemination and implementation,

1. Invites all States to consider the Guidelines recommended by the experts who participated in the Second International Consultation on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, as contained in document E/CN.4/1997/37 and summarized in the annex to the present resolution;

2. Calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), its co-sponsors and other partners to provide technical cooperation to States, upon the request of Governments when required, from within existing resources, for the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS;

3. Requests the Secretary-General to solicit the opinion of Governments, specialized agencies and international and non-governmental organizations and to prepare for consideration by the Commission at its fifty-fifth session a progress report on the follow-up to the present resolution.

Annex
Guideline 1: States should establish an effective national framework for their response to HIV/AIDS, which ensures a coordinated, participatory, transparent and accountable approach, integrating HIV/AIDS policy and programme responsibilities across all branches of government.

Guideline 2: States should ensure, through political and financial support, that community consultation occurs in all phases of HIV/AIDS policy design, programme implementation and evaluation and that community organizations are enabled to carry out their activities, including in the field of ethics, law and human rights, effectively.

Guideline 3: States should review and reform public health laws to ensure that they adequately address public health issues raised by HIV/AIDS, that their provisions applicable to casually transmitted diseases are not inappropriately applied to HIV/AIDS and that they are consistent with international human rights obligations.

Guideline 4: States should review and reform criminal laws and correctional systems to ensure that they are consistent with international human rights obligations and are not misused in the context of HIV/AIDS or targeted against vulnerable groups.

Guideline 5: States should enact or strengthen anti-discrimination and other protective laws that protect vulnerable groups, people living with HIV/AIDS and people with disabilities from discrimination in both the public and private sectors, ensure privacy and confidentiality and ethics in research involving human subjects, emphasize education and conciliation, and provide for speedy and effective administrative and civil remedies.

Guideline 6: States should enact legislation to provide for the regulation of HIV-related goods, services and information, so as to ensure widespread availability of qualitative prevention measures and services, adequate HIV prevention and care information and safe and effective medication at an affordable price.

Guideline 7: States should implement and support legal support services that will educate people affected by HIV/AIDS about their rights, provide free legal services to enforce those rights, develop expertise on HIV-related legal issues and utilize means of protection in addition to the courts, such as offices of ministries of justice, ombudsmen, health complaint units and human rights commissions.

Guideline 8: States, in collaboration with and through the community, should promote a supportive and enabling environment for women, children and other vulnerable groups by addressing underlying prejudices and inequalities through community dialogue, specially designed social and health services and support to community groups.

Guideline 9: States should promote the wide and ongoing distribution of creative education, training and media programmes explicitly designed to change attitudes of discrimination and stigmatization associated with HIV/AIDS to understanding and acceptance.

Guideline 10: States should ensure that government and private sectors develop codes of conduct regarding HIV/AIDS issues that translate human rights principles into codes of professional responsibility and practice, with accompanying mechanisms to implement and enforce those codes.

Guideline 11: States should ensure monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to guarantee the protection of HIV-related human rights, including those of people living with HIV/AIDS, their families and communities.

Guideline 12: States should cooperate through all relevant programmes and agencies of the United Nations system, including the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, to share knowledge and experience concerning HIV-related human rights issues and should ensure effective mechanisms to protect human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS at the international level.

These guidelines are endorsed by the Grenada Human Rights Organization Inc. They form part of GHRO's policy and practice of human rights standards and principles in Grenada.

GHRO's STATEMENT ON HIV/AIDS in reference to STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION

Using Human Rights to Combat the HIV/AIDS Pandemic:

Presented by The Grenada Human Rights Organization Inc - (GHRO Inc)
Communication Strategy Development on HIV/AIDS Related Stigma & Discrimination in Grenada - (October 2006)

The HIV/AIDS pandemic presents a stark example of the nexus between human rights and health. This first became evident when government responses to HIV/AIDS subjected people living with the disease to violations of their rights to liberty, privacy, freedom of association, nondiscrimination, and equality before the law. Early on, advocates began to look to human rights law to protect the rights of people who were infected and to ensure that government responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic were based on science rather than stereotypes and stigma. As the pandemic has progressed, it has become apparent that human rights law is relevant not only to the treatment of infected individuals but also to wider policies that influence vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, as populations that are discriminated against, marginalized, and stigmatized are at a greater risk of contracting the disease. A central tool in fighting the pandemic therefore must be to strengthen the recognition of the human rights of all people.

International human rights law can indeed serve as a powerful mechanism to influence domestic law and policy regarding HIV/AIDS. The human rights framework is also one of the few avenues the international community can use to examine what goes on within a state's borders, especially regarding health policy. This scrutiny by outside actors pressures national governments to change their practices and is one mechanism through which international consensus on the content of each right is built.

Guaranteeing Protection
Ensuring the human rights of people who have contracted HIV is an important component of an effective response. People living with HIV/AIDS are often subject to discrimination and stigmatization that can permeate every aspect of life employment, medical treatment, the care and custody of children, and other social relationships. People with HIV have been fired simply because of their serostatus. Doctors and dentists, irrationally fearing negligible risks of transmission, have refused to treat people who are infected. Courts have implied that serostatus is a factor in the ability to be a nurturing and protective parent. The list of examples of discriminatory practices is, unfortunately, extensive.

Nondiscrimination is a basic tenet of the human rights movement, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and countless other human rights treaties and declarations. This principle of nondiscrimination has begun to be applied at the national level with regard to individuals infected with HIV. Some nations, such as South Africa, have adopted legislation aimed at protecting people with HIV/AIDS from discrimination. This action is essential. The stigma associated with HIV/AIDS deprives people of their dignity and communities of productive members. Equally as detrimental, it provides an incentive to avoid testing, especially in circumstances when treatment options are limited or nonexistent. With legal protection, people will feel secure in their rights and dignity and be more willing to seek testing and treatment. Enshrining human rights principles at the national level therefore may serve to change the culture of stigmatization that can surround the disease, even if this transformation is slow.

Expanding Treatment
Providing access to treatment is also an essential element of securing the rights of people who have contracted HIV/AIDS. International covenants protect the right to health and the right to benefit from scientific progress, but they simultaneously protect intellectual property rights. (Or, as described in the ICESCR, they protect the moral and material interests resulting from scientific discovery.) The proper balance between providing access to affordable medication and protecting intellectual property rights is one of the foremost human rights questions provoked by the AIDS pandemic. With millions sick and dying, nations have begun to produce generic versions of patented drugs and to sell them at a fraction of the cost of the brand name products. Pharmaceutical firms claim that this production violates their patent rights and that without the large profits generated from patented medications, research and development on groundbreaking medicines would be hampered.

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, established by the ICESCR, has noted that intellectual property rights are primarily instrumental: they serve to provide incentives for creativity, producing new drugs and other innovations. On the other hand, human rights are fundamental, deriving from the human person. From a human rights perspective, the world community should place greater weight on the right to life and health than intellectual property concerns. The threat of legal action against companies producing generic medicines should pale in comparison to the public outcry against corporations bringing such suits. This has been true in several cases where pharmaceutical companies threatened to bring patent enforcement actions. The companies eventually bent to the will of the public, allowing production of the medicines to continue. Interpreting treaties consistently with human rights norms will allow greater access to treatment, curtailing unnecessary suffering.

In addition to helping individuals and populations cope with the burdens of rising numbers of HIV/AIDS infections, human rights law has a role to play in curbing the spread of the disease. When government policies are focused on respecting, protecting, and fulfilling the right to education, scientific advancement, and health, governments are better able to undertake scientifically proven interventions and harm reduction strategies that, while perhaps politically unpopular, will best curb the spread of HIV/AIDS. For example, latex condom use is known to drastically reduce the risk of transmitting the virus. People have a right to this information, based on the right to education and the right to benefit from the advancements of science, both embodied in the ICESCR. Governments should provide information on the efficacy of condom use, even where such a policy is politically unpalatable. This strategy protects the population's right to health, among other human rights.

Additionally, policies regarding drug use should be evaluated in terms of their net effect on human rights and population health. Intravenous drug use is fueling the pandemic. For example, 90 percent of the one million people infected in Russia contracted the disease through intravenous drug use. While needle exchange programs are controversial, drug users who have access to sterile needles protect themselves, their partners, and their families. The benefit of these programs, including the expansion of the right to health for drug users and their contacts, outweighs perceived risks of contributing to drug use. Failing to protect the drug-using population will only result in greater incidence of stigma and disease and further risk to the human rights of this vulnerable group.

Protecting the human rights of disadvantaged groups in society will also help slow the rates of infection. The vulnerability of minority groups, women, and children places them at greater risk for contracting the virus. Disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities often have a higher incidence of HIV/AIDS, due in part to restricted access to resources, including education, adequate medical services, and political power. For example, in the United States, African Americans comprise 41 percent of reported AIDS cases but make up only 12 percent of the population.

Likewise, women in many societies are at an economic and political power disadvantage. Unequal rights and opportunities with regard to employment, property ownership, marriage, divorce, and inheritance place women in a position of economic dependence on their spouses or other family members. Where women do not have equal access to well-paying jobs, they may be forced into marriage or commercial sex work out of economic necessity. In countries where a widow or divorced woman is not entitled to a share of marital property, staying in a marriage with an unfaithful spouse or immediate remarriage may become the best means of subsistence. Practices such as polygamy, women stepping into a marriage to fulfill the procreative role upon their sister's death or infertility, and no minimum age of marriage contribute to women's vulnerability, as do cultural beliefs (often supported by laws) that wives should be sexually available at their husband's desire. In this context, women's greatest risk factors become their inability to refuse sexual intercourse, control their husband's sexual behavior, or negotiate condom use.

Children are especially vulnerable. Lacking the physical and social power to protect themselves, they are at risk of sexual abuse. This innate vulnerability has been exacerbated by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which has left an estimated fourteen million children orphans. This number is rising. As people die of the disease in the most productive years of their lives, social structures are being fragmented and fewer caregivers are available to fill the void left by missing parents. Economically, socially, and physically vulnerable, AIDS orphans risk being taken advantage of through sexual exploitation or child labor. Beliefs in some regions that having intercourse with a virgin will cure HIV/AIDS or that young females are less likely to have contracted the disease lead to rape, intergenerational sex, and intergenerational marriage, leaving children open to exposure to the disease.

Moving Beyond International Treaties
Although the core international human rights treaties, including the ICESCR, emphasize equality for minorities and women and afford special protections to children, these ideals must be incorporated into national law and social structures. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1965 and 1979, respectively. The 169 parties to CERD have obligated themselves to "pursue . . . a policy of eliminating racial discrimination in all its forms" (Art. 2(1).) Similarly, CEDAW requires that countries "embody the principle of the equality of men and women . . . [and] ensure, through law and other appropriate means, the practical realization of this principle" (Art. 2(a).) Over 90 percent of the countries that are members of the United Nations are parties to CEDAW, though it is interesting to note that the United States has not ratified the treaty. Yet in spite of these public promises on the part of governments to ensure that different racial groups and men and women stand on equal footing, minorities and women remain second-class citizens in many countries. International treaties should therefore be supplemented by national legislation and training for minority and women advocates. Making these promises a reality may be the best medicine in the fight against AIDS.

Likewise, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is almost universally ratified, though the United States has not ratified this treaty, either. The CRC protects children's rights to health, education, and a minimum age and appropriate conditions for employment. The treaty also obligates states to protect children from sexual exploitation and abuse, as well as trafficking for any purpose. In spite of these lofty statements, however, children remain susceptible to infection and suffer the consequences of HIV/AIDS infections among family members. Again, making these rights a part of the cultural landscape could slow the spread of AIDS by protecting children from exploitation.

The extent to which we are able and willing to protect human rights will undoubtedly affect the speed at which the HIV/AIDS pandemic spreads. Securing the human rights of people affected by HIV/AIDS allows them to receive treatment, continue working, and provide for themselves and their families while they are still well enough to contribute. It affords society the benefits of talented and productive individuals. Equally important, it encourages people at risk to get tested for the disease, allowing treatment to begin earlier, as well as offering greater protection for sexual and needle-sharing partners.

Enforcing the human rights of vulnerable populations will also slow the spread of the disease. When countries adhere to the human rights principles to which they have agreed minority status, will no longer be a risk factor for contracting HIV/AIDS. Different races and ethnic groups will have equal access to society's resources, including education about the disease and its treatment. Women will be better able to protect themselves from contracting HIV. They will have the economic and political power to leave unfaithful husbands or to refuse unprotected sex. Children will be protected from exploitation; sex trafficking, intergenerational marriage, and sexual violence will become less prevalent. By protecting the human rights of all segments of the population, people will be better able to ensure their own health and the health of their families.

Credit to the following:
Lesley Stone is a senior fellow at the Center for Law and the Public's Health, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Universities. Lawrence O. Gostin is John Carroll Research Professor and Director, Center for Law and the Public's Health. His latest book is The AIDS Pandemic: Complacency, Injustice, and Unfilled Expectations (University of North Carolina Press, 2004).

Amnesty International

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948
On December 10, 1948 the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the full text of which appears in the following pages. Following this historic act the Assembly called upon all Member countries to publicize the text of the Declaration and "to cause it to be disseminated, displayed, read and expounded principally in schools and other educational institutions, without distinction based on the political status of countries or territories."

PREAMBLE
Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1.
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2.
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 3.
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4.
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.

Article 5.
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Article 6.
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7.
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.

Article 8.
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.

Article 9.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10.
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11.
(1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12.
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.

Article 13.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

Article 14.
(1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
(2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15.
(1) Everyone has the right to a nationality.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16.
(1) Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
(2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
(3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17.
(1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
(2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18.
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19.
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 20.
(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
(2) No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21.
(1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
(2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.
(3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22.
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.

Article 23.
(1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
(2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
(3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
(4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24.
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 25.
(1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
(2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26.
(1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
(2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
(3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27.
(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28.
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 29.
(1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
(2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
(3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30.
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

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