October 22, 2002
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNAIDS have issued updated guidelines on HIV/AIDS and human rights to reflect significant political and legal developments relating to HIV/AIDS.
The key change pertains to an update on Guideline 6, access to prevention, treatment, care and support, which is based on the following premises:
The revised Guideline 6 is one of 12 international guidelines on HIV/AIDS and human rights published in 1998 by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and UNAIDS.
"With the advent of life-prolonging HIV treatment and price barriers falling, access to treatment is now at the heart of realizing the human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS," said UNAIDS Executive Director Dr. Peter Piot. "The new Guideline 6 will help governments and civil society focus on the need to scale up access to prevention and treatment. Today's unequal and limited access to treatment is unacceptable, with less than 5 percent of people in the developing world who need HIV medicines having access to them."
The revised guideline breaks new ground by calling on governments to:
The International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights are online at www.unaids.org.