HIV and Human Rights Day
posted: 10/12/2009
Today is World Human Rights Day. HIV is a litmus test of how well countries promote and protect our human rights.
HIV and Human Rights
As UNAIDS tells us, to empower people to claim their rights, to protect human dignity and to prevent the transmission of HIV, the following rights should be protected so that people will come forward for HIV information, education and means of protection, and will be supported to avoid risky behaviour:
- Non-discrimination : protected against discrimination if seek help or are HIV+
- Right to privacy : protected against mandatory testing; HIV status kept confidential
- Right to liberty and freedom of movement : protected against imprisonment, segregation, or isolation in a special hospital ward
- Right to education/information : access to all HIV prevention education and information and sexual and reproductive health information and education
- Right to health : access to all health care prevention services, including for sexually transmitted infections, tuberculosis, voluntary counseling and testing, and to male and female condoms
What are the Human Rights?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights emphasises the rights to
- life, liberty, and security of person;
- to freedom from arbitrary arrest;
- to a fair trial;
- to be presumed innocent until proved guilty;
- to freedom from interference with the privacy of one's home and correspondence;
- to freedom of movement and residence;
- to asylum, nationality, and ownership of property;
- to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, opinion, and expression;
- to association, peaceful assembly, and participation in government;
- to social security, work, rest, and a standard of living adequate for health and well-being;
- to education; and to participation in the social life of one's community.
UNAIDS and Human Rights
Permalink