United Nations: Special AIDS Session Next Week

AIDS Treatment News, June 23, 2001 by John S. James

Apparently the U.S. wants to use general language such as "vulnerable individuals" instead of naming the groups.

Many AIDS professionals and activists consider the issue important because they want to use the document that emerges to pressure their governments to focus prevention resources where the epidemic is spreading fastest. Many countries, including the U.S., have targeted prevention resources irrationally because of a population's disadvantaged or unpopular political position, or minority status.

* Human rights. Here is the current text, which some countries want changed, although as of today (June 21) there seems to have been progress toward narrowing the areas of controversy:

HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Respect for human rights reduces vulnerability to HIV/AIDS

Respect for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS drives an effective response

By 2003, complete policy reviews of existing non-discrimination legislation and protective laws, drawing as appropriate on the United Nations Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, in order to adopt new or strengthen existing legislation to protect the human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, eliminate discrimination and ensure their equal rights in education, employment and services;

By 2005, ensure that national legislation is in place to promote, protect and respect the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS to information, quality care, support, confidentiality and privacy;

By 2005, develop and implement national strategies that: assist women to exercise control over and make their own decisions relating to their sexuality in order to protect themselves from HIV infection; and promote shared responsibility of men and women to ensure safe sex and prevent HIV infection;

By 2005, implement measures to increase capacities of women and young girls to protect themselves from risk of infection, principally through gender-sensitive prevention education and the provision of reproductive health services;

By 2005, develop and begin to implement national strategies to promote women's full enjoyment of all human rights and reduce their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS through the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful traditional and customary practices, abuse and rape, battering, and trafficking in women and girls;

Apparently the U.S. does not want any movement toward health care as a human right. And some countries do not like the idea of human rights and are reluctant to see it extended.

* Treatment Access vs. Prevention and/or Intellectual Property

The current draft focuses on prevention and only two paragraphs on treatment and care. But pharmaceutical companies -- and therefore the U.S. and some other delegates -- have problems with the following paragraph, apparently because they do not want any language suggesting collective action toward differential pricing or other ways of making medications affordable:

By 2003, ensure that national strategies are developed in close collaboration with the international community, civil society and the business sector to increase substantially the availability of antiretroviral drugs and of essential drugs, for the treatment of HIV infection and opportunistic infections, by addressing factors affecting the provision of these drugs, including technical and system capacity, pricing, including differential pricing and by examining alternatives for increasing access and affordability of HIV/AIDS related drugs.