9 Jul 2012

UN / HIV–AIDS

Punitive laws and human rights abuses are costing lives, wasting money and stifling the global AIDS response, according to a report released today (9 July) by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law.

Posted at: July 9, 2012 7:01 pm

Duration: 02:25

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STORY: UN / HIV–AIDS
TRT: 2.25
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 9 JULY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

SHOTLIST:

FILE – 2011, UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

9 JULY 2012, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, press conference
3. Wide shot, audience
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
"To compliment this progress, bad laws should not now be allowed to stand in the way of effective HIV responses. And we here are growing chorus of calls for the removal of punitive laws and practices which are impeding effective HIV responses."
5. Cutaway, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Helen Clark, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP):
"Where the law protects the right to health and ensures that treatment continuity isn't threatened by trade agreements with excessive intellectual property protections or other policies, then the goal of having 15 million people on life saving treatment by 2015 could be achieved." 
7. Cutaway, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Festus Gontebanye Mogae, former President, Botswana:
"What we have found is that there is compelling evidence that an epidemic of bad laws is costing lives. That bad laws reduces the positive impact of the scarce resources that we are spending already on the issue. That is something the world cannot afford and should not be allowed to persist."
9. Cutaway, journalists
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Michele Sidibe, Executive Director, UNAIDS:
"Unless we deal with the underline causes, unless we are underwent the fundamental issues which are the law and reforming society to make sure that we can fight social injustice, and we can make sure that we have a better redistribution of opportunity and we can really stop to have this divide which is not acceptable between under deserved and people who are receiving services today will not make a possibility to move."
11. Cutaway, journalists
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Michele Sidibe, Executive Director, UNAIDS:
"If we want to stop HIV, the respect for human rights and for dignity is not optional, it is a must. We need to really deal with these issues, these central issues of dignity."
13. Wide shot, Conference

STORYLINE:

Punitive laws and human rights abuses are costing lives, wasting money and stifling the global AIDS response, according to a report released today by a United Nations-backed commission.

The report, HIV and the Law: Risks, Rights and Health, by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, found that punitive laws and discriminatory practices in many countries undermined progress against HIV.

Launching the report at the United Nations in New York today (9 July), UNDP Administrator, Helen Clark said that, "bad laws should not now be allowed to stand in the way of effective HIV responses,"

She stressed that it was with laws that protected the right to health, and ensured treatment continuity that would allow to ensure life saving treatment for 15 million people by 2015.

In more than 60 countries, it is a crime to expose another person to or transmit HIV. More than 600 HIV-positive people across 24 countries have been convicted of such crimes. These laws and practices discourage people from seeking an HIV test and disclosing their status. 78 countries criminalise same-sex sexual activity. These laws make it difficult to prevent HIV amongst those most vulnerable to infection.
 
Festus Gontebanye Mogae, former President of Botswana and one of the members of the commission said that there was compelling evidence that "an epidemic of bad laws is costing lives".

Noting that bad laws reduced the positive impact of the scarce resources already spent, Mogae stressed that that was something the world could not afford, and "should not be allowed to persist."

Michele Sidibe, UNAIDS Executive Director said that it won't be possible to move forward unless the fundamental issues of the law and reforming society were dealt with.

He added that "if we want to stop HIV, the respect for human rights and for dignity is not optional, it is a must. We need to really deal with these issues, these central issues of dignity".

The Commission also found that many countries squander resources by enacting and enforcing laws that undermine critical investments in fighting the pandemic. This is despite the fact that over the past three decades, scientific breakthroughs and billions of dollars of investments have led to the remarkable expansion of lifesaving HIV prevention and treatment, which has benefited countless individuals, families and communities.

It also calls on Governments to use the law to end the scourge of violence against women and girls, and to resist international pressures to prioritize trade over the health of their citizens. As well, it recommends decriminalizing same-sex sexual activity, voluntary sex work and drug use, which will allow vulnerable populations access to HIV services.

The Commission's members include the former President of Botswana, Festus Gontebanye Mogae; a US Congresswoman, Barbara Lee; and, the Co-Director and Co-Founder of AIDS-Free World, Stephen Lewis.