UNAIDS welcomes the adoption of a key HIV resolution by the Human Rights Council

GENEVA, 12 July 2024— UNAIDS welcomes the adoption, by consensus, of a critical resolution on human rights in the context of HIV and AIDS at the 56^th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

The 2024 resolution 56/20 Human Rights in the Context of HIV and AIDS, recognizes the centrality of human rights to the HIV response. The resolution reaffirms that, “the full realization of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all is an essential element in the global response to the HIV epidemic and its sustainability.”

It also recognizes the importance of human rights and community leadership in the HIV response, ensuring access to available and affordable HIV prevention, testing and treatment services for all, without discrimination.  The resolution also calls on countries to tackle discriminatory attitudes and punitive laws and policies that prevent access to health services and to support community-led organizations as well as protect civic space.

This ground-breaking text includes the first unqualified recognition of sexual and reproductive health and rights in a UN resolution and calls on countries to scale up comprehensive education on sexual and reproductive health with information on, “sexuality and comprehensive HIV prevention, gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment, human rights, and physical, psychological and pubertal development, to enable them to build self-esteem and risk reduction skills and to empower them in their decision-making, communication and development of respectful relationships, in order to enable them to protect themselves from HIV infection.” .

Every week, 4000 adolescent girls and young women (aged 15–24 years) became infected with HIV worldwide. 3100 of these infections occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, also where 6 out of 7 new HIV infections in adolescents (aged 10–19 years) were among girls.

UNAIDS Executive Director, Winnie Byanyima said, “We would not be where we are today in the HIV response, with 29 million people on treatment and a 56% reduction in new HIV infections, without having human rights and communities at the center of the response. However, the status quo is not enough. All stakeholders need to scale up action to respect, protect and fulfil human rights in the HIV response if we are to end inequalities and end AIDS for everyone.”

Human Rights Council members expressed concern that key populations face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, stigma, violence and abuse. This affects their access to clinics and/or peer-led drop-in centers and called on member states to take action to ensure access to non-stigmatizing health services free from discrimination and legal barriers.

The resolution recognizes the importance of the Global AIDS Strategy’s societal enabler targets and calls on countries to take action to remove punitive legal and policy frameworks, and end stigma. This also includes   addressing gender-based violence and inequalities, as well as changing gender stereotypes and negative social norms.

The societal enabler targets, outlined in both the 2021 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS and the Global AIDS Strategy, 2021-2026, commit countries to the following targets: that by 2025, less than 10% of people living with HIV and key populations experience stigma and discrimination, less than 10% experience gender-based inequalities and violence and less than 10% of countries have punitive laws and policies.

Progress towards the 2025 milestone has been mixed, with many countries failing to make significant progress required to be on track to meet these targets and other human rights goals.

This resolution is an important commitment by countries to re-double their efforts to ensure human rights are at the center of a sustainable HIV response.

Going forward the resolution calls on OHCHR and UNAIDS, in collaboration with other stakeholders to hold a panel at the 58^th session of the Human Rights Council in 2025 to discuss the realization of human rights in sustaining and increasing the gains made in the HIV response. The session will include recommendations to countries and will be followed by a report on sustainability and human rights to be presented at the 60^th HRC session.

In 2025, countries are set to develop a new Global AIDS Strategy that will take the world to the 2030 deadline to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, which includes ending AIDS as a global health threat by 2030.

UNAIDS commends the leadership of Brazil and the other members of the core group, Colombia, Portugal and Thailand, for continuing to lead the resolution on HIV at the Human Rights Council and their significant success in bringing consensus back to this relevant resolution.

More information here: OHCHR | 56th regular session of the Human Rights Council: Resolutions, decisions and President’s statements

 

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women, ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. Learn more at unaids.org and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.