A/HRC/41/27 Nations (ASEAN), recalled the importance of regional dialogue and cooperation, underpinned by strong and sustained will, which were crucial in strengthening the response to HIV. ASEAN was committed to becoming a region free of new HIV infections, AIDSrelated deaths and discrimination, and had pursued an inclusive strategy and multistakeholder partnerships, including with civil society and the private sector. The representative of the Bahamas stressed that ending the HIV epidemic by 2030 would require ending all forms of stigma and discrimination, providing prevention services and ensuring the fulfilment of the right to health for persons living with HIV. She also described the Pan-Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS, which had been indispensable in strengthening the response to HIV in the region. The representative of Angola emphasized the need to address the burden of HIV, which was particularly disproportionate in the Southern African region, and expressed the State’s commitment to reversing the HIV epidemic. Angola had also revised its legal instruments and adopted policies and strategies to effectively promote human rights for all, and to combat stigma and discrimination. The representative of the Gambia encouraged States to amend their constitutions to promote and protect the human rights of all rather than of specific populations alone. 25. The representative of WHO emphasized the need to make health facilities and HIV services accessible to everyone, and pointed out the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination witnessed in health settings that have a disproportionate impact on key populations. The representative of the International Network of People Who Use Drugs called for standards to be set for governments to ensure minimum guarantees of rights for key populations. Aidsfonds praised the Robert Car Fund as the first international pooled funding mechanism aimed at strengthening global and regional HIV civil society and community networks. 26. In response, panellists emphasized the need for political will to adopt a human rights-based approach in the response to HIV. Mr. Ogunrombi pointed out that general constitutional protections alone were not enough to address human rights violations, particularly with regard to key populations, and called for the revision of criminal and punitive laws that affected them. Mr. Jürgens shared the view of the Global Fund in creating incentives, requiring countries to dedicate a percentage of domestic funds to neglected key populations. Ms. Sekgoma noted the widespread effect of discrimination, and called for its end in the response to HIV. Ms. Romero drew attention to the regression witnessed in the promotion of human rights and to the emergence of anti-rights groups, and called for the inclusion, promotion and protection of the human rights of transgender persons. C. Regional accountability mechanisms to uphold human rights to and through health 27. The panel was composed of Judge Patricio Pazmiño, of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; Lucy Asuagbor, member of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights; Evghenii Golosceapov, member of the Council for the Prevention and Elimination of Discrimination and Ensuring Equality (Republic of Moldova); and Bikash Gurung, of the Asian Network of People Who Use Drugs. The panellists reaffirmed the centrality of human rights in the response to HIV, and made presentations on the role played by regional human rights systems, national human rights institutions and civil society in ensuring accountability for human rights, particularly in the case of violations. 28. Judge Pazmiño provided a brief introduction of the inter-American system, and the recognition of economic, social and cultural rights in the American Convention on Human Rights and the Protocol of San Salvador. He focused on the right to health and its justiciability, and explained the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court. In cases such as Gonzalez Lluy v. Ecuador, the right to health had been recognized indirectly, in connection with civil and political rights. Judge Pazmiño also described the evolution of the Court’s interpretation leading to its current perspective on direct protection of the right to health. He presented the decision on Cuscul Pivaral et al. v. Guatemala, where the Court ruled against Guatemala, which had not provided proper treatment to the victims, who had had their rights to health, physical integrity and life violated. The Court found the principle of 8