Know Your Rights

Human Rights and Universal Access: What have Governments committed themselves to?
To ensure the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by people living with HIV and members of vulnerable groups; promoting access to HIV education and information; full protection of confidentiality and informed consent; intensifying efforts to ensure a wide range of prevention programmes, including information, education and communication, aimed at reducing risk-taking behaviours and encouraging responsible sexual behaviour, including abstinence and fidelity; expanded access to essential commodities, including male and female condoms and sterile injecting equipment; harm-reduction efforts related to drug use; expanded access to voluntary and confidential counselling and testing; safe blood supplies; and early and effective treatment of sexually transmitted infections; developing strategies to combat stigma and social exclusion connected with the epidemic.

How do some of the relevant rights apply?
To empower rights-holders 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 For those living with HIV or otherwise affected by it, the following rights should be protected:
• • Non-discrimination and equality before the law : right not to be mistreated on the basis of health status, i.e. HIV status
• • Right to health : right not to be denied health care/treatment on the basis of HIV status
• • Right to liberty and security of person : right not to be arrested and imprisoned on the basis of HIV status
• • Right to marry and found a family , regardless of HIV status
• • Right to education : right not to be thrown out of school on the basis of HIV status
• • Right to work : right not to be fired on the basis of HIV status
• • Right to social security, assistance and welfare : right not to be denied these benefits on the basis of HIV status
• • Right to freedom of movement , regardless of HIV status
• • Right to seek and enjoy asylum , regardless of HIV status