Human rights, pragmatism and political courage: a powerful combination
Gelegenheid:Mr President, Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen
Our goal is to curb the spread of HIV and to mitigate the impact of the AIDS pandemic. But to do so effectively, we need to take into account the following three pre-conditions:
• political courage
• respect for human rights, and
• an effective, pragmatic, and inclusive approach
This powerful combination is a recipe for success. I will start with human rights.
Human rights are at the core of our foreign policy. Human rights as laid down in the Universal Declaration apply to all people, in all places, at all times. They determine and protect our collective standards of human dignity. This implies that tradition, culture or religion can never serve as an excuse for not respecting people’s rights, such as the sexual and reproductive rights of men and women. Sexual minorities like the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities have the right to be guaranteed a life free of discrimination.
Respect for human rights is also at the core of our actions on development cooperation. People and communities are not just recipients, they are also active participants. Human rights form the basis of our response to the AIDS pandemic. AIDS activists have successfully claimed access to treatment as a human right, not as an act of charity. This strong and focused advocacy has helped transform our thinking on HIV/AIDS specifically. AIDS programmes need to respond to the specific needs of people, and should not be based on judgments about gender, sexual orientation or behaviour.
As well as making human rights a starting point, we need to follow an effective, pragmatic and inclusive approach!
• We know that treatment can prevent mother-to-child transmission.
• We know that women with access to education, health and income are less vulnerable to HIV infection. It goes without saying that women should have access to means of protecting themselves, like the female condom.
• We know that evidence-based comprehensive sex education at school in combination with access to commodities will avert risky behaviour.
• We know that HIV testing is the starting point for treatment, changing behaviour and curbing the pandemic, and we know that an integrated approach to HIV and TB is essential.
• We know that poverty reduction contributes to reduction of inequities in all its features: income, education, employment, health status and vulnerability.
• We know that meaningful participation of young people increases the effectivity of HIV interventions.
• We know that sex workers who are empowered and have access to condoms and health services do protect themselves from HIV infection.
• We know that greater involvement of and investment in the most affected groups, like people living with HIV, migrants, and prisoners, is crucial for an effective response.
• And we know that comprehensive harm reduction programmes are effective in preventing HIV transmission among injecting drug users. This implies needle exchange and substitution treatment. In this context, consistency in policies on drugs and HIV is essential, not only at the country level but also throughout the UN system.
In addition to investing in proven interventions, we also have to invest in new and better prevention options, such as vaccines and microbicides.
But respect for human rights and pragmatism – building on what works – are not enough to stop the speading of HIV!
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is great that we are all here to join forces in the fight against HIV/AIDS, focussing on our collective target of achieving Universal Access in 2010. We have discussed the issues on the table on previous occasions. It is now time to act!
Political courage remains the starting point for all our actions. It takes political courage to stand up for the rights of people living with HIV, AIDS orphans, and those most vulnerable to HIV infection. It also requires courage to talk openly about sexuality, sexual relations, drug use, and the need for gender equality. It takes political will to translate our words into action.
Respect for human rights, pragmatism and – above all - political courage: a powerful mix.
Let’s act now and do what we said we would do.
Thank you.