Promoting the Rights of PLHIV

We advocate for an enabling environment that protects and promotes the rights of PLHIV and affected communities and supports effective HIV programmes.

We advocate for:

  • review and reform of legislation, such as public health and criminal laws, to ensure that they are appropriately applied to HIV and that they are consistent with international human rights obligations
  • enacting or improving anti-discrimination and other protective laws and policies, including ethics in research, privacy and informed consent to testing and treatment
  • monitoring and enforcement mechanisms, including complaint systems that are appropriate for and accessible to PLHIV and affected communities, to guarantee the protection of HIV-related human rights
  • establishing or improving legal and related services to enable PLHIV and affected communities to know about and enforce their rights
  • reform of laws and policy that stigmatise or discriminate against PLHIV and affected communities and/or undermine access to information, education and the means of prevention
  • review and reform of laws regulating HIV-related goods to ensure widespread availability of prevention commodities
  • active political and community leadership on the value and effectiveness of comprehensive harm reduction programmes for people who inject drugs
  • reform of health systems to promote application of universal infection control, including safe injection practices and the securing of a safe blood supply
  • the development of health service infrastructure to support comprehensive and integrated prevention, testing, treatment, care and support programmes
  • wider availability of affordable male and female condoms
  • HIV vaccines and microbicide development, including access to community preparedness measures, and
  • access to safe, effective and affordable medications, including improved supply of affordable drugs by governments. This also includes international issues regarding compulsory licensing, parallel importing and low international prices for HIV-related drugs and national laws relating to regulation of HIV-related goods, to ensure widespread availability of safe and effective medication at affordable price.