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58th session of the Commission on Human Rights

Geneva, 3 April 2002


Opening Statement by Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights :
Panel discussion on realising the right to health


Madame Chair,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,


I am pleased to be with you today for this discussion on the right to health and access to HIV and AIDS related medications.

It is particularly fitting that this meeting takes place in the context of the ongoing deliberations across the hall at the Commission on Human Rights. HIV and AIDS have raised unprecedented challenges to human rights, development and human security and it is vital that the Commission develops its own analysis and response to the crisis.

We all know that the stigma and discrimination associated with AIDS continue to fuel its spread and exacerbate its impact. Developing countries, where AIDS and poverty are now mutually reinforcing negative forces, continue to bear the overwhelming burden of the epidemic. In sub-Saharan Africa AIDS is the leading cause of death. AIDS has left in its wake millions of orphans at risk of hunger, neglect and exploitation – and this number is set to rise to the tens of millions in the space of a few years if the spread of the epidemic is not curtailed.

In recent months I have witnessed how stigma and discrimination can seriously hamper access to HIV related treatments. In Buenos Aires in October I met a group of gays, lesbians and transvestites who outlined the serious discrimination they suffered, including the denial of health care and facilities in many cases. In India last November I had an opportunity to visit a small residential centre treating both adults and children who were coping with AIDS. An elderly man told me that when he fell and broke his hip the local hospital had refused to treat him. In China, also in November, I discussed with the Committee of the All China Federation for Women the important work they are doing in the provinces to overcome the stigma and denial, and to try to ensure that women and girls have access to information and learn to protect themselves. Committee members expressed concern at the lack of access to adequate medical services in rural areas, and even at times the refusal of treatment. These, and other examples, have brought home to me the importance of access to HIV-related medication, and what a central human rights issue it is!

Yet despite the magnitude of the crisis, we can also point to an increasing number of success stories that demonstrate how this epidemic can be brought under control by addressing the root causes of vulnerability to HIV infection, and by integrating prevention with comprehensive care, treatment and support.

We are here today to hear about some of these success stories, to take stock of recent developments and to consider how best to move forward from here.

From the perspective of the United Nations system, the past year has been marked by increased appreciation of the role of human rights, and the realisation of the right to health specifically, in the fight against AIDS. I thought it would be useful to recall some of these steps to help set the stage for our discussion.

- Last year the Commission on Human Rights for the first time adopted a resolution recognising that access to medication in the context of pandemics such as HIV/AIDS is fundamental to realising the right to health. Commission Resolution 2001/33, under the sponsorship of the Government of Brazil, received broad endorsement by Member States. It shows the growing international recognition of the centrality of human rights to global health challenges and the increased attention to the accountability of States under international law for issues related to health.

- At the General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS, States committed to the realisation of human rights as an essential part of the international response to the pandemic.

- At the World Conference against Racism, Governments recognized the need to address the impact of racism as a determinant of health status and access to health care.

- At the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha last November, WTO Member States adopted a Declaration on the TRIPS agreement and public health. The Declaration is significant in that governments agreed, while reiterating commitment to the TRIPS Agreement, that it can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO members' right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all.

I should also note that many States have committed recently, through their pledges to the Global Fund, to mobilising additional resources to assist developing countries in addressing the challenges raised by HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

All of these commitments encourage respect for the right to the highest attainable standard of health for those infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS. They also represent a positive step towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal of halting, and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.

As world leaders proclaimed in the Millennium Declaration: "in addition to our separate responsibilities to our individual societies, we have a collective responsibility to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and equity at the global level." The AIDS epidemic has challenged us to recognise this shared responsibility and to work together as a global human family. We need now to build on recent commitments, to learn from positive experiences, and to ensure that human rights are central to the decision-making of governments, international organisations, companies and civil society in the response to HIV/AIDS at all levels.

I look forward to a lively and fruitful discussion.

Thank you.