SADC could do better on AIDS

ALTHOUGH almost all SADC countries are committed in principle to implementing a human rights based response to HIV and AIDS, half of them still have less than a 15 per cent coverage in their anti-retroviral treatment campaigns.

Stigma and discrimination too remain major obstacles to accessing health and legal services. These are among the key findings in a report to measure the successes and failures of 14 Southern African Development Community countries in steps to implement international guidelines on the pandemic.The Windhoek-based regional organisation AIDS and Rights Alliance of Southern Africa (Arasa) released the report in Johannesburg last month, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the United Nations sponsored International Guidelines on HIV-AIDS and Human Rights issued in 1996.The research found that, in attempts to determine if countries were using a holistic, human rights-based approach as recommended, only in South Africa was direct reference found to the guidelines.This was in a South African Law Reform Commission report on aspects of the law relating to AIDS.”The recommendations made by the (South African) Law Reform Commission have been used by parliament to guide law reform around HIV and AIDS,” the report said.Most countries had introduced legal and policy reforms which have helped to create a more protective legal environment for those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.”All recent public health reforms were found to be consistent with human rights principles,” the report said.It added that in relation to criminal law reforms though, responses based on “punishing” people living with HIV were creeping onto the legislative reform agenda.”This included HIV testing of offenders in circumstances where the public health or legal purpose of such testing is questionable,” the report stated.A key gap researchers found though is the lack of structures, such as human rights commissions, to monitor human rights abuses.At present most legal services are provided by non-governmental organisations and a lack of funding is limiting their ability to extend and develop programmes.The report said further research was needed to establish if recent reforms are helping to reduce human rights abuses against HIV positive employees and job applicants.It added that legal prohibitions on pre-employment HIV testing had resulted in ending this practice.”However, protections against unfair discrimination in the workplace have not prevented employees with HIV from being dismissed in both South Africa and Namibia.It is possible though that the number of such dismissals is lower.”According to the report, developing a human rights response to HIV and AIDS in the region is made complex by the large number of competing human rights concerns and, in some cases, continued state repression.”In certain SADC countries, prevailing political and legal factors which undermine human rights generally, such as state restrictions of freedom of expression are undermining the ability of government departments and NGOs to provide effective HIV-AIDS programmes.”It said that while there was legal protection against unfair discrimination, pre-employment HIV and occupational health and safety, there were a number of civil and political rights which are not protected.”For example, sex between men remains a criminal offence in most countries and the legal rights of women to equality are undermined by the continued recognition of discriminatory customary laws and practices.”The report said mounting calls to reduce the high rates of AIDS-related deaths is leading to pressure for a return to a more traditional public health approach, where there is less focus on individual choices.”Undermining individual rights in this context may heighten the vulnerability of such groups to HIV by further alienating them from health care services,” the report warned.It added that a number of human rights challenges continue to face the SADC region.”These include stigma and discrimination, limited access to health care services, restrictions on the rights to access to information, the lack of political leadership on HIV-AIDS, limited funding for human rights initiatives and the continued criminalisation of drug use, commercial sex work and sex between men,” the report concluded.Continued vigilance and advocacy is needed to ensure a human rights based response remains central to all strategies to combat and mitigate the impact of the pandemic.”The International Guidelines ought also to be re-assessed at regular intervals to ensure they are still providing guidelines on the key human rights issues.”Research on Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe was conducted by a team of consultants led by Anne Strode of the Faculty of Law at the University of Kwazulu-Natal.These are among the key findings in a report to measure the successes and failures of 14 Southern African Development Community countries in steps to implement international guidelines on the pandemic.The Windhoek-based regional organisation AIDS and Rights Alliance of Southern Africa (Arasa) released the report in Johannesburg last month, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the United Nations sponsored International Guidelines on HIV-AIDS and Human Rights issued in 1996.The research found that, in attempts to determine if countries were using a holistic, human rights-based approach as recommended, only in South Africa was direct reference found to the guidelines.This was in a South African Law Reform Commission report on aspects of the law relating to AIDS.”The recommendations made by the (South African) Law Reform Commission have been used by parliament to guide law reform around HIV and AIDS,” the report said.Most countries had introduced legal and policy reforms which have helped to create a more protective legal environment for those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.”All recent public health reforms were found to be consistent with human rights principles,” the report said.It added that in relation to criminal law reforms though, responses based on “punishing” people living with HIV were creeping onto the legislative reform agenda.”This included HIV testing of offenders in circumstances where the public health or legal purpose of such testing is questionable,” the report stated.A key gap researchers found though is the lack of structures, such as human rights commissions, to monitor human rights abuses.At present most legal services are provided by non-governmental organisations and a lack of funding is limiting their ability to extend and develop programmes.The report said further research was needed to establish if recent reforms are helping to reduce human rights abuses against HIV positive employees and job applicants.It added that legal prohibitions on pre-employment HIV testing had resulted in ending this practice.”However, protections against unfair discrimination in the workplace have not prevented employees with HIV from being dismissed in both South Africa and Namibia.It is possible though that the number of such dismissals is lower.”According to the report, developing a human rights response to HIV and AIDS in the region is made complex by the large number of competing human rights concerns and, in some cases, continued state repression.”In certain SADC countries, prevailing political and legal factors which undermine human rights generally, such as state restrictions of freedom of expression are undermining the ability of government departments and NGOs to provide effective HIV-AIDS programmes.”It said that while there was legal protection against unfair discrimination, pre-employment HIV and occupational health and safety, there were a number of civil and political rights which are not protected.”For example, sex between men remains a criminal offence in most countries and the legal rights of women to equality are undermined by the continued recognition of discriminatory customary laws and practices.”The report said mounting calls to r
educe the high rates of AIDS-related deaths is leading to pressure for a return to a more traditional public health approach, where there is less focus on individual choices.”Undermining individual rights in this context may heighten the vulnerability of such groups to HIV by further alienating them from health care services,” the report warned.It added that a number of human rights challenges continue to face the SADC region.”These include stigma and discrimination, limited access to health care services, restrictions on the rights to access to information, the lack of political leadership on HIV-AIDS, limited funding for human rights initiatives and the continued criminalisation of drug use, commercial sex work and sex between men,” the report concluded.Continued vigilance and advocacy is needed to ensure a human rights based response remains central to all strategies to combat and mitigate the impact of the pandemic.”The International Guidelines ought also to be re-assessed at regular intervals to ensure they are still providing guidelines on the key human rights issues.”Research on Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe was conducted by a team of consultants led by Anne Strode of the Faculty of Law at the University of Kwazulu-Natal.