OHCHR/UNAIDS/WHO Panel EventOpening Remarks by Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights

Exploring the link: HIV/AIDS, stigma, discrimination and racism


5 September 2001

Chairperson,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to open this panel today. As I said at the General Assembly Special Session in June, HIV/AIDS is the greatest human rights challenge facing us today. It is particularly fitting that these discussions should take place in South Africa, a country which has suffered greatly from the impact of the AIDS epidemic.

We are fortunate to have with us a very diverse panel of speakers with a wealth of experience and expertise to share on the issue of HIV/AIDS and stigma, discrimination and racism :

· I will have the pleasure shortly of giving the floor to Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS. I congratulate Dr Piot on the launch this morning of UNAIDS’ compendium on "Discrimination, Stigma and Denial", which compares case studies conducted in India and Uganda on the impact of HIV/AIDS related discrimination, stigma and denial on individuals, families and communities.

· I am also very pleased that Dr Nafis Sadik, Special Representative of the Secretary-General to the World Conference and the former head of the UN Population Fund, is with us today to address the issue of gender inequalities and HIV/AIDS.

· Dr Winnie Mpanju-Shumbusho brings to the panel discussions her expertise as Director of HIV/AIDS Strategy, Advocacy and Partnerships with the WHO.

· Professor Peter Aggleton has written extensively on the social dimensions of HIV/AIDS and will present the background paper for today’s panel.

· And I would like to thank Barney Pityana, Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission, for agreeing to moderate today’s panel discussion on very short notice.
I look forward to a lively and interactive debate between panellists and participants.

We know that respect for human rights reduces the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS. It does so by addressing the root causes of vulnerability to HIV infection. Respect for human rights also lessens the adverse impact on those infected and affected by HIV, and empowers individuals and communities to respond to the pandemic. In order to be effective, an international response to the pandemic therefore must be grounded in respect for all civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights, as well as the right to development.

We have seen significant developments in the area of human rights and HIV/AIDS in recent months. Member States at the General Assembly Special Session in June recognised the need to put the realisation of human rights at the heart of the global response to the epidemic. They committed to enact, strengthen or enforce legislative and other measures to eliminate discrimination against, and ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights by people living with HIV/AIDS and members of vulnerable groups. They committed to ensuring the development and implementation of multi-sectoral national strategies for combating HIV/AIDS that

· address the epidemic in forthright terms; confronting stigma, silence and denial;
· address the gender- and age-based dimensions of the epidemic;
· eliminate discrimination and marginalization; and
· involve civil society, the business sector, people with HIV/AIDS, vulnerable groups, people at risk, women and young people.

And they committed to taking measures to increase the capacities of women and adolescent girls to protect themselves from the risk of HIV infection through the provision of healthcare services, including sexual and reproductive health.

To be meaningful, these commitments require a clear understanding of the driving forces behind the epidemic and its devastating impact on individuals and communities. They require us to engage in open and inclusive discussions on the difficult and, at times, sensitive issues related to HIV/AIDS and human rights including discrimination based on gender, race, poverty, sexual orientation, and HIV and AIDS status. This was a central part of my message to the UN General Assembly in June. Today’s panel, which will explore the link between HIV and AIDS and stigma, discrimination and racism, is an important step in this process.

The World Conference against Racism provides a unique opportunity to build upon the achievements of the General Assembly Special Session and to address the relationship between HIV/AIDS and different forms of discrimination and intolerance at the global, regional and local levels. There is language in the draft Declaration, in which States express their deep concern that, in many countries, people infected or affected by HIV/AIDS, as well as those who are presumed to be infected, belong to groups vulnerable to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, which has a negative impact and impedes their access to health care and medication.

There is language also in the draft Programme of Action urging States to work to strengthen national mechanisms to promote and protect the human rights of victims of racism and other forms of intolerance who are infected or presumably infected with HIV/AIDS. I urge States to implement the decisions reached here in Durban and to elaborate strategies, policies and programme that ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights by people living with HIV/AIDS and members of vulnerable groups.

I welcome the background paper prepared for our discussions, which has given us some food for thought on issues such as the multiple faces of racism, discrimination and HIV/AIDS; gender inequality, race and HIV/AIDS; and poverty, race and HIV/AIDS. I hope that the panellists and participants here today can help us move towards a better understanding of these issues.

I look forward to a fruitful discussion. Thank you.