The International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights

OHCHR and UNAIDS published the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights in 1998 as a tool for States in designing, co-ordinating and implementing effective national HIV/AIDS policies and strategies. The Guidelines were drafted by experts at an international consultation in 1996 and provide the framework for a rights-based response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by outlining how human rights standards apply in the context of HIV/AIDS and translating them into practical measures that should be undertaken at the national level, based on three broad approaches:

• improvement of government capacity for multi-sectoral coordination and accountability;

• reform of laws and legal support services, with a focus on anti- discrimination, protection of public health, and improvement of the status of women, children and marginalised groups; and

• support and increased private sector and community participation to respond ethically and effectively to HIV/AIDS.

OHCHR encourages governments, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organisations and people living with HIV and AIDS to use the Guidelines for training, policy formulation, advocacy, and the development of legislation on HIV/AIDS-related human rights.

In light of developments in adressing the epidemic, a Third International Consultation in 2002 revised Guideline 6 on access to prevention, treatment, care and support.

A consolidated version of the Guidelines was launched in August 2006 to coincide with the XVIth International AIDS Conference and the tenth anniversary of the Guidelines themselves.