A/HRC/16/69 Moldova reported having passed an HIV law relatively early in its epidemic and revised it in 2007 to incorporate broader human rights protections. Some countries consider that wide-ranging protection against discrimination in their constitutions or other laws prohibited HIV-related discrimination, even if that prohibition was not explicit. Other countries had considered but not yet passed laws in this area. UNAIDS reported that, in spite of extensive civil society support, a 2006 draft AIDS bill with anti-discrimination provisions has not been passed into law in India. 9. Mechanisms to ensure access to justice under HIV-related non-discrimination statutes were described in several survey responses; the responses suggested that there was little investment in ensuring that people knew and were able to claim their rights under these laws. Brazil, exceptionally, had several complementary mechanisms of enforcement and redress involving public prosecutors, public defenders and councils for the defence and promotion of human rights at the municipal level. UNAIDS noted that the antidiscrimination law of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia established an independent commission to oversee implementation and enforcement. In Sweden, where a new anti-discrimination law in 2009 brought together the provisions of seven earlier laws including prohibition of HIV-related discrimination, an “equality ombudsman” had been established to oversee compliance. UNAIDS reported that the anti-discrimination law of Chad, adopted in 2007, created an oversight mechanism as well as legal clinics or resource centres to assist with complaints. The 2010 report on the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS concluded that, while 71 per cent of countries had laws prohibiting HIV-related discrimination, only 56 per cent had mechanisms to deal with violations. 10. In spite of legal protections against it, HIV-related discrimination is reportedly rampant in many forms across the world and is closely linked to stigma. For example, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and others emphasized that children living with HIV or from families where a parent was living with HIV often faced discrimination in school and society. Asia Catalyst, a non-governmental organization, reported that, in several Asian countries, when people living with HIV formed organizations, they faced discriminatory barriers to being registered as non-governmental organizations. The 2010 report on the goals described in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS highlighted accounts of discrimination and against people living with HIV from across the world, including refusal of employment, denial of health and social services, insults and physical abuse. 11. Several respondents reported widespread HIV-related discrimination in the world of work, including in recruitment and in the denial of promotions. The Association of Young Lawyers in Niger, a non-governmental organization, reported that employers dismissed or demoted people living with HIV, but claimed that these actions were for other reasons. UNDP reported that, in Croatia, people living with HIV could not serve in police forces or private security firms, even in administrative jobs. Poland noted that the military excluded people living with HIV, even though a court decision had struck down a similar rule for police forces. The International Labour Organization (ILO) highlighted the fact that the first global labour standard on HIV and AIDS, passed by the International Labour Conference in June 2010, was an important step in addressing HIV-related discrimination in the world of work. The new AIDS recommendation enjoined countries and employers to ensure protection from HIV-related discrimination for all workers in all forms and situations of work, as well as in all stages of employment, including recruitment, retention and promotion. ILO launched the implementation phase of the recommendation in 2010. 12. Echoing observations related to stigma, many respondents noted that HIV-related discrimination was integrally linked to discrimination based on a person’s status as a sex worker, man who has sex with men, transgender person, prisoner or former prisoner, or person who uses illicit drugs. The International HIV/AIDS Alliance, a non-governmental 6 GE.10-17842

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents