Opening Statement by Ms. Navi Pillay, High Commissioner for Human Rights to the Thematic Panel Discussion on HIV Giving Voice to People Living with and Affected by HIV, Human Rights Council 19th session

Geneva, 20 March 2012

Madame President,
Distinguished delegates,
Dear colleagues,

Welcome to the first ever Human Rights Council panel discussion on HIV. Today’s panel discussion is timely, coming at the onset of the fourth decade of AIDS.

The discovery of AIDS some 30 years ago alarmed the world. We over-reacted to a little known disease and were afraid we would be infected by touch or breathing the same air.

We expelled children from schools.
We fired people from their jobs and prevented others from getting jobs.
We locked people up in jails.
We closed our borders to HIV positive foreigners.
We threw widows affected by HIV out of their homes.
We shamed people, we stigmatised them and we ostracised them.

Through our actions and omissions HIV became a certain, albeit silent death sentence.

Thirty one years later we have made significant gains.

Today, new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths have fallen to the lowest levels since the peak of the epidemic. Some 14 million people are now accessing life-saving treatment. 2.5 million deaths have been averted since 1995 and 48% of pregnant women living with HIV received treatment to prevent vertical transmission in 2010. HIV prevention is working. Not least, we have a new Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS that was adopted last year by the General Assembly which contains a number of goals and targets to sustain the gains we have made.

At the forefront of this change were people living with HIV, civil society, human rights defenders, and HIV activists. Some of these courageous people are here on this panel with me today. They pushed the boundaries of the global AIDS response and made us see that HIV was much more than a health condition. They demanded affordable treatment and prevention, and placed human rights at the front and centre of effective responses to HIV. Today we pay tribute to those formidable human rights defenders and people living with and affected by HIV, who not only organised themselves but also used their voice to bring about a remarkable transformation in the global AIDS response.

HIV has taught us a lot about how the neglect of human rights increases vulnerability. The lack of respect for human rights has not only fuelled the epidemic, it has brought to the surface pernicious and persistent forms of discrimination and marginalization, in multiple and overlapping manifestations.

Yes, we have overcome many barriers in the AIDS response, but no country is spared on-going challenges. We must do more and better with resolve, in order to generate lasting results and transform into an era of zero new infections, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero discrimination. A goal that UNAIDS has so aptly sought to achieve in its new strategy.

Our starting point in addressing this epidemic must be the recognition of all people as equal in the enjoyment of their human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter of the United Nations makes this clear and has translated this principle into legally binding obligations. Sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender persons, people who use drugs, prisoners and persons in detention, migrants, refugees, persons who live in poverty, people with disabilities, orphans, young women and girls must not only be included in national responses to HIV, they must also be involved in the policy options and choices that affect them. It is no coincidence that these populations are the most vulnerable to the epidemic - they not only bear the burden of the disease, they also endure a broad range of human rights violations.

A human rights approach to HIV is also concerned with monitoring the impact of our policies and programmes; ensuring that our laws, policies and practices do not increase vulnerability to HIV or result in human rights violations for people living with HIV; and that HIV-related human rights violations are redressed. We must therefore, be ready to address a range of violations and abuses, including inequality and violence against women which drives HIV vulnerability among women and girls.

This is no easy challenge, especially in light of other competing demands on limited resources.

Funding is a major challenge. Many organisations have played a critical role in turning the tide of this epidemic. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria which is one of the major actors in the global AIDS response has recently cancelled its 11th round of funding. The human rights obligations relating to the right to health includes ensuring the sustainability of access to HIV services including affordable and good quality lifesaving antiretroviral treatment to the extent of maximum available resources. International assistance is indispensible, but national ownership is equally pertinent. Funding the AIDS response is not only necessary; it is also a human rights legal obligation. We should not permit the current economic crisis to translate into a reversal in the gains made so far.

My report to this session of the Council (A/HRC/19/37) together with previous reports by the Secretary-General to the Council, provide information on some of the ongoing human rights challenges. I recommend these reports to you as you seek to develop more effective national responses to HIV.

Madame President,
Distinguished delegates,
Dear colleagues,

AIDS is not over.
Let us not make it a metaphor for discrimination.
Bold and courageous action is required on our part.

We have met many champions in this journey of fighting an epidemic that still defies us. Today we are privileged to have five champions from whom we have much to learn and hear from.

Fellow panellists and moderator,

I thank you for coming here to share your experiences with us. You speak with authority today as you address this intergovernmental body that is responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights.

I look forward to an informative and stimulating discussion.

Thank you.