HIV and AIDS Campaign
Press Release

Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance coordinator Linda Hartke and other members of the Global Steering Committee of the World AIDS Campaign, met with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday, 16 June, to highlight the importance of the 2009-2010 theme for World AIDS Day: “Universal Access and Human Rights”.

“The launch of the two year theme for World AIDS Day on Universal Access and Human Rights has been marked by strong examples of leadership from people living with HIV, civil society, the Executive Director of UNAIDS Michel Sidibé and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,” stated Hartke after the meeting. “The Secretary-General spoke passionately of his encounters with people living with HIV, the ‘unacceptable’ laws and practices of some governments that violate the rights of people living with or affected by HIV, and his deep commitment to support and lead in efforts to achieve Universal Access.” She noted that Ban Ki-moon spoke eloquently of HIV as a “disease of the human spirit” that “requires so much more from each of us than simply a medical response.”

The 2009-2010 World AIDS Day theme challenges discriminatory laws, policies and practices that stand in the way of access for all to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support. The global theme for World AIDS Day is set by the World AIDS Campaign, a network of civil society groups active in the response to HIV and AIDS, including the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA).

The EAA has recently adopted a new HIV and AIDS campaign framework for action which places a priority on upholding the value, life and dignity of all persons and calls for actions that recognize and protect internationally-accepted human rights.

“Our religious values lead us to uphold human dignity and to recognize every person as made in the image of God. They call us to loving and compassionate action especially for those most vulnerable and ostracized from society. They lead us to support and call for the protection of human rights and oppose laws and practices which deny access to life-giving services to any child, woman or man,” states Dr Carl Stecker, chair of the EAA’s HIV and AIDS strategy group and Senior Technical Advisor, HIV and AIDS, Catholic Relief Services (USA).

Stecker also noted that the EAA framework emphasizes that “we must continue to work within our religious communities to eliminate stigma and discrimination and model the positive practices and leadership necessary at all levels to eliminate the root causes of vulnerability to HIV infection and support people living with HIV.”

The meeting with Ban Ki-moon, held during a low-key UN review of government efforts to meet the targets set in the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006 Political Declaration, requested an “open, inclusive, high level review” of 2010 targets, particularly the commitment to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010. In highlighting the importance of human rights in reaching universal access, a message to the Secretary General from civil society organizations, including over 20 faith-based organizations, asked for “particular attention to efforts to combat stigma and discrimination” including criminalization and legal barriers that prevent access to information and services.

Ban Ki-moon highlighted the “human rights imperative” in his report prepared for the 16 June review and his speech delivered to the General Assembly: “To achieve the goal of universal access, barriers to progress need to be overcome. Not just in battling the disease, but also in confronting obstacles that society puts in the way.”

The report notes that as of 2007, “one third of countries reported that they still lacked laws to prohibit HIV-related discrimination, and many countries with anti-discrimination legislation have problems with adequate enforcement.” Over 80 countries “have laws and regulations that present obstacles to effective HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for vulnerable subpopulations.” In addition, about 60 countries have some form of travel restrictions targeting the transit, entry or residency of people living with HIV. The report also notes that “an increasing number of countries have enacted overly broad laws that criminalize transmission or exposure to HIV, as well as non-disclosure of HIV status.”

Public health advocates agree that such discrimination, restrictions, and criminalization cause people to avoid testing for HIV or disclosing their status, denying them the treatment and support they need for a full and productive life and increasing risk factors for the further transmission of HIV.

“Respecting, upholding and protecting human rights and I mean human rights, especially those of children and women, will no doubt contribute to fewer infections, fewer deaths, and even less demand for treatment,” says Chabu Kangale, Executive Director of the International Network of Religious Leaders Living with or Affected by HIV or AIDS (INERELA+). “We must work for a more human and just society for all. That is the right direction for all of us.”

“Our daily work in communities, caring and supporting people living with and affected by HIV who are shunned by society, leads us to amplify our call to respect and value the dignity of all persons,” states Isabel Richardson, Executive Secretary, Madras Christian Council of Social Services. “As EAA members, and as churches and Christian organizations, we will push for the application of human rights in policies and practices at national and international level as an essential ingredient to ensure access for everyone to prevention, treatment, care and support.”

Notes for editors:
Report of the United Nations’ Secretary General on Progress Made in the implementation of the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, issued April 7 2009, is available at: www.e-alliance.ch/en/s/docs/16516/download

For more information contact Sara Speicher, +44 7821 860 723 (mobile), sspeicher@e-alliance.ch