UN Protection of Human Rights: Africa and Aids - Essay Example

RUNNING HEAD: UN PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: AFRICA AND AIDS The United Nations Protection of Human Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa With Regard to the AIDS Epidemic Name Class Date Table of Contents The United Nations Protection of Human Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa With Regard to the AIDS Epidemic The AIDS epidemic is the most devastating crisis in the history of human health. More than 35 million people are living with HIV. 22 million men, women and children have died, and 15,000 people are infected every day. If current trends do not change, there will be more than 40 million AIDS orphans in Africa alone by2010. At current infection rates, a fifteen-year-old boy in Botswana now has an 85 percent chance of dying of AIDS. But the pandemic represents more than a health catastrophe. It is both a product of, and exacerbated by, pervasive violations of human rights. HIV/AIDS is a preventable and manageable disease that has been turned into a pandemic by ignorance, neglect and violations of human rights. The disease most deeply affects those least able to enjoy their rights: the poorest, the weakest, the least educated, the most stigmatized.1 1.0 Background At the First International Consultation of HIV/AIDS and Human Rights in July of 1989 the United Nations (UN) proposed to set guidelines for policy and practice in the treatment of people infected with HIV/AIDS to ensure compliance with all international law. In 1996 the Secretary General of the UN, at the 52nd session of the Commission for Human Rights (CHR) was requested to expand the guidelines of the human rights with respect to HIV/AIDS, prepare a report of findings and ensure those finding were disseminated internationally. The CHR's request was based on the Secretary General's statement during the 51st session of the UN in which he stated: the development of such guidelines or principles could provide an international framework for discussion of human rights considerations at the national, regional and international levels in order to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the complex relationship between the public health rationale and the human rights rationale of HIV/AIDS. In particular, Governments could benefit from guidelines that outline clearly how human rights standards apply in the area of HIV/AIDS and indicate concrete and specific measures, both in terms of legislation and practice, that should be undertaken (Para. 135) In order to meet this objective the Second Annual International Consultation on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights under the leadership of United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS along with their cosponsors (hereafter, UNAIDS)2 was held in Geneva from 23 to 25 September of 1996 to finalise guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. Secondly, the members upon acceptance of the final form of the guidelines set out recommendations to ensure the guidelines are disseminated and implemented by all UN intergovernmental bodies, nations and non-government agencies. The basic human rights guiding principles as established by the UN with regard to HIV/AID are contained in Appendix A on page 26. Several of the principles are of specific interest with regard to the current research topic. One of these guiding principles is the 'Right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications.' In this principle the UN recognises that every person regardless of where they live is entitled to quality health care, current treatment methods, preventative supplies, counselling and testing. They further acknowledged that third world and emerging nations do not necessarily have the means, resources and funding necessary to accomplish this. To that end, they spell out the need to supply within countries and between nations the fundamental supplies and resources for this to occur. This is further emphasised in principle 14 which more expressly states that "International support, from both the public and private sectors, for developing countries for increased access to health care and treatment, drugs and equipment is essential. In this context, States should ensure that neither expired drugs nor other invalid materials are supplied" ("Second international", 1996, C. 15) These basic principles place the responsibility on each and every nation to share their knowledge and resources to ensure each and every person is afforded their basic human rights. The national level policies were further refined in 2005 to include specific observable procedures to ensure that human rights are being preserved. In July 2005 the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS UNAIDS developed guidelines for constructing the core indicators of the success of HIV/AIDS efforts. Developing the core indicators was important to allow countries to monitor their individual response to the AIDS epidemic and when multiple countries are compared indicators of regional and global response can be tracked and monitored. Additionally, the sharing of information will assist countries in assessing what works in other areas and may provide insight to developing best practices for incorporation by individual countries. The core indicators are arranged into three areas: National Commitment and Action, National knowledge and behaviour and National-level programme impact. Amongst these core indicators was the preservation of human rights within both high and low HIV/AIDS prevalence areas. The determination of whether human rights are being preserved within these regions will be assessed through the National Commitment and Action Report required to be completed biennially under the Policy Development and Implementation Status Section entitled National Composite Policy Index via desk research and telephone interviews. Figure 1 below displays the UNAIDS declared National Composite Policy Indicators which will be used beginning this year for measurement of national commitment to the HIV/AIDS work. Figure 1: UNAIDS National Composite Policy Index Key Indicators3 Having a basic understanding of the UN policy on HIV/AIDS at both the global and national level, the current assessment of the prevalence of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa will be discussed to understand the severity and complexity the situation before discussing specific issues relating to the effectiveness of the UN policies and enforcement of Human Rights with regards to HIV/AIDS. 2.0 Current Situation in Sub-Saharan Africa In a 2004 study Asamoah-Odei, Calleja and Boema found that in surveying 300 antenatal clinics in 22 countries Sub-Saharan Africa between 1997 and 2003 showed increases in some areas by one tenth whilst other areas showed a drop of at least a tenth in others. Of the various regions the authors show that the AIDS epidemic has appeared to have levelled off in the last few years. However, according to the authors only eastern Africa has seen the prevalence rate actually decrease. Additionally, they noted that changes in reporting methods could account in part for the reduction in rates and further stressed the importance of critical analysis of empirical data. In areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa where the AIDS virus has widely spread beyond high risk groups, antenatal testing (AIDS testing of pregnant women) for prevalence and trends has proven to be the most reliable method (Asamoah-Odei, Calleja & Bema, 2004). Appendix B on page 27 displays a complete listing country by country and the prevalence rate of AIDS both individually by country and by region. Regional rates vary from a high in Southern Africa with a prevalence rate of 42% to a low of 22% in Eastern Africa. Figure 2 below displays the long term trends of HIV prevalence in antental clinics in urban areas of Sub-Saharan Africa from 1990 through 2002. As seem in the below figure East Africa where HIV was first detected had approximately an 18% prevalence rate in 1990. The rate rose to just over 20% in 1991 before slowly declining to the present rate of just under 15%. South Africa on the other hand had 0% rate in 1990 and maintained low levels until 1994 when the rate climbed to 5% before jumping to over 15% in 1996. Since 1996 the HIV rate in South Africa has steadily rose to its current level of 25%. Southern Africa had a steady rise for 5% in 1990 until 1996 where it was at 25% since that time there has been a steady slow increase to the current rate of 26%. Central and West Africa have remained fairly steady over the 12 year period with beginning rates of 2 and 1% respectively and current rates of 5 and 4% respectively. The rates as depicted below are based on the urban centres and do not include rural testing locations. Figure 2: HIV Prevalence Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa 1990-20024 Figure 3 below displays the countries within Sub-Saharan Africa that had a statistically significant change in HIV prevalence between 1997/1998 and 2002/2002, either upward or downward. This data is broken down within region and displays the clinics surveyed in each country. Data was only provided if survey findings were available for the same clinics within both time periods to eliminate confounders. The far right column displays the positive or negative variance found within each country. Caution should be shown here as the data is for a limited amount of clinics within each country and the HIV prevalence displayed here by country are only for the clinics shown not the entire population of each country. Figure 3: Countries with a Significant Decline or Increase of HIV Rates 1990-20025 It should be stated that all data collected in these findings were from women between the ages of 15 and 24 which the United Nations has determined are the best predictor ages to show recent trends in HIV infection rates which is one the United Nations key indicators of progress towards their AIDS goals. As seen in the previous section although there seems to have been progress made in Sub-Saharan Africa it has been small and slow. There is still too much to do. In the following paragraphs we will examine the dilemma faced when trying to balance human rights and medical rights and the inherent barriers being faced to alleviate them. 3.0 The Human Rights/Medical Rights Dilemma In his July 2000 address to the International AIDS Conference held in Durban South Africa, Kenneth Roth, the executive director of the Human Rights Watch summarized the predicament of enforcing adherence to Human Rights and Health Care with regard to HIV/AIDS directed attention to the pre-eminent Human Rights Treaty currently in force the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This treaty adopted by the UN in 1966 has been ratified by 142 countries to date. Article 12 of the treat states: 1. "The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. 2. The steps to be taken by the States Parties to the present Covenant to achieve the full realization of this right shall include those necessary for: (a) The provision for the reduction of the stillbirth-rate and of infant mortality and for the healthy development of the child; (b) The improvement of all aspects of environmental and industrial hygiene; (c) The prevention, treatment and control of epidemic, endemic, occupational and other diseases; (d) The creation of conditions which would assure to all medical service and medical attention in the event of sickness" (screen 1). The article confirms that upon ratifying the treaty each country acknowledges the right of every person to quality health care. In strict adherence to this regardless of geographical boundary it is every country's responsibility to ensure this occurs, through financial aid, medical aid, supplying health care workers or by whatever means necessary. This obviously has not occurred in totality, although progress has been made. Roth (2000) explains the difficulty in strictly enforcing this right with regard to health care by drawing contrast between economic and social rights, under which human rights falls, with those of civil and political rights. According to Roth (2000): The difficulty is best illustrated by contrast with a more classic rights-based appeal - say, a demand to stop torture. Even in countries that practice torture, torture is shameful. By exposing a government's use of torture, we can shame the government to curtail this inhumane practice. So why can't similar public shaming be used to force governments to devote the resources needed to fight AIDS It can, but the process is not nearly as straightforward (p. 2) In the case above everyone agrees that torture is wrong and collectively as a world demand that the torture stop immediately. One country is responsible for the violation and that country is held accountable by the world. It is not so simple with enforcement of social rights. Each treaty addressing the issue of human rights and health care states that each state to the best of their ability will provide as they are able to afford. Further it is understood that, unlike political rights, actions and results can not be immediate. What this creates is a chasm where no one nation can be singled out for not providing aid or not providing enough aid. Each nation can feasibly say they are doing the best they can or that is all they can afford. Roth states (2000) "Again, there are no clear benchmarks by which to rebut these claims" (p. 2). The real question becomes how do we move beyond finger pointing and blame and work towards a common goal - eradication of HIV/AIDS. 4.0 HIV/AIDS Contributions In an analysis of HIV/AIDS international aids funding from 2000 - 2002 the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the UN reported that Sub-Saharan Africa was the leading recipient of total international HIV/AIDS funding during that period. Figure 4 below presents the total contributions made to fight HIV/AIDS internationally. The data does not include contributions to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria which will be presented separately. As seen in the table below nearly $1.1 billion USD on average was spent of HIV/AIDS funding yearly. As seen there has been a marked increase in contributions $800 million in 2000, $1 billion in 2001 and over $1.2 billion in 2002. Figure 4: 2000-2002 International Contributions to HIV/AIDS Programming6 The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria data was handled separately in order to show the proportional contribution which actually went to the AIDS effort. Figure 5 below lists the contributing country. The centre column represents their total contribution in USD while the column on the right represents 60% of the total contribution which is the amount going to AIDS funding. As seen in the table below the United Kingdom was the largest sole contributor to the Global Fund at $210.3 million USD. The United States was next at $137.5 million USD followed by Japan at $80 million USD. Figure 5: 2000-2002 International Contributions to the Global Fund7 Figure 6 below displays by country the total HIV/AIDS contributions made to between 2000 and 2002. As seen in the below table the United States is the highest contributor with $792.7 million USD in contributions followed by the UK with $378.7 million USD and the Netherlands with $188.4 million USD. However, as generous as these figures looks, it is not enough. According to the UN Secretary General: an adequate response to the global pandemic demands a minimum of $7-10 billion a year. Other reliable estimates are still higher. Annual funding must remain at this level or higher for decades. The United States contribution to the UN Trust Fund, in light of its percentage of the gross domestic product of the developed world, should be at least $2.5 billion a year ("AIDS and", 2001, screen 1) Figure 6: 2000-2002 International Total Contributions8 Figure 7 below represents the breakdown of contribution by region. As seen in the below graph approximately $2.25 billion USD funded HIV/AIDS efforts in Africa followed by approximately $100 million USD to Asia. The balance a very small percentage went to the Americas and other nations. Figure 7: HIV/AID Monetary Recipients by Region9 The last data we will examine in this section is the total aid by country. Not surprisingly the top ten recipients for HIV/AIDS funding during 2000 and 2002 were all located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Figure 8 below displays the country followed by the amount of support received in USN. Also included on the table are each country's per capital in USD, the percentage of aid to all recipients (by country) and each country's portion of the total current aid. Figure 8: HIV/AID Top Monetary Recipients by Country10 5.0 International Impediments and Infringements 5.1 Access to Medication A major impediment to ensuring low cost quality health care for all world citizens is the complex intellectual property rights (patent protection) for HIV/AIDS drugs. In 2001 the UN under resolution 2001/33 the CHR stated that "access to medication in the context of HIV/AIDS is one fundamental element for achieving progressively the full realization of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health"("The FTAA", 2002, screen 1). In 2001 142 members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) voted that the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Agreement (TRIPS) should not be used to impede states' ability to ensure public health and safety. This is to ensure that generic equivalents and lower cost drug prices are available during times of health crisis. Recently the United States in an attempt to appease multinational pharmaceutical companies attempted to attach to the Free Trade Act of the Americas (FTAA) a provision that would seriously undermine the ability to lessen the pricing of antiretroviral drugs to emerging nations with severe HIV/AIDS crisis such as found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The report on this attempted infraction if passed would place nations in further crisis and increase barriers to health care. Sadly all the HRW could do was issue recommendations. Their recommendation to the United States included the following: Refrain from using bilateral trade negotiations and WTO dispute resolution mechanisms to discourage countries from fulfilling their public health objectives as contemplated in the Doha Declaration. Promote flexibility in determining appropriate levels of national patent protection rather than making access to United States markets conditional upon a TRIPS-plus patent regime ("The FTAA, 2002, screen 1). Unfortunately other than to recommend that trade partners not bow to the pressure of the United States and their obvious lobby efforts to protect the exclusivity of the huge multinational pharmaceutical companies, the only action the HRC could do was publicly remind the United States and the rest of the world that according to ICESCR each nation has an obligation to not impede the rights of heath care to any person and that "efforts of the United States to discourage other nations from guaranteeing access to affordable HIV/AIDS drugs contravene its obligations as an ICESCR signatory" ("The FTAA, 2002, screen 1). Again in 2004 the United States attempted to block the sale of generic HIV/AIDS drugs by calling into question the testing process by WHO (World Heath Organization). This generic which had yet to be approved by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA) would slash the cost of drug therapy. "The cheapest generic regimen, also endorsed by Doctors Without Borders and other health practitioners, costs $140 per year per patient as opposed to the brand-name equivalent of six pills a day costing at least $600 per year" ("U.S. Access", 2004, screen 1). According to the article "The United States stands alone in opposing these safe, inexpensive and WHO-certified generic medicines. The Bush administration should dispel all accusations that it is protecting the interests of brand-name drug companies, and instead it should endorse and purchase these cheaper drugs, which would maximize the return on its investment in fighting AIDS" ("U.S. Access", 2004, screen 1). 5.2 Other Areas One of the major areas where all countries are lacking with regard to the HIV/AIDS crisis is the funding gap. Although discussed previously to a degree it is one of the most critical areas that need to be addressed with regard to HIV/AIDS and human rights violations. Education is a critical factor missing - getting the word out to everyone. For instance, the US according to Waldholz (2003) is the largest single contributing country to AIDS relief worldwide. Yet even with their $2.2billion dollar funding in 2002 they still fell short of the almost $1 billion USD of what they 'should' be contributing based on their GDP. Although the US is frequently target they are not alone. There is more that each country can do. Part of the problem in the industrialised countries in lack of understanding, they see the amount of money being spent and believe it is enough. It is not. Instead of pointing fingers at one another we each need to make a commitment to ensure funding needed is available. Another area that needs to be considered is erasing some of old debt from Sub-Saharan countries struggling to fund their HIV/AIDS programs. In cancelling world debt their funds can be spent in part on HIV/AIDS. The industrialised nations need to ensure that happens. 6.0 State Level Impediments and Infringements 6.1 Funding Disbursements A Reuters report in February of 2006 revealed that countries within Sub-Saharan Africa are not getting the international AIDS funding to the local level. According to the report "global HIV/AIDS funding has increased from $250 million in 1995 to more than $8 billion in 2005, and governments and United Nations agencies now are facing the challenge of developing new ways to spend it" (Quinn, 2006, screen 1). Part of the problem appears to be donor limitations on how the money can be used and an additional impairment is lack of coordination within the countries. With all the orphans in Africa now because of AIDS and the fact that only 10% of the HIV/AIDS patients who need it currently receiving antiretroviral drug treatment, the author questions why there is any excuse for not spending AIDS funding expeditiously. 6.2 Gender Bias Another major area of concern in Sub-Saharan Africa is women's human rights. It is a well known fact that HIV/AIDS, disproportionately affects women. On March 20, 2006 the UN special envoy Stephen Lewis stated a separate UN agency should be established to deal specifically with women issues. ("Women in Africa", 2006, screen 1). Lewis points out that current the HIV infection rate for females in Swaziland is 57%. Currently 60% of all HIV positive people worldwide live in Sub-Saharan Africa. When speaking about the HIV/AIDS prevalence in Africa and more specifically the gender bias within the continent, Lewis (2006) stated "years from now, historians will ask how it was possible that the world allowed AIDS to throttle and eviscerate a continent -- and overwhelmingly the women of that continent -- and watch the tragedy unfold in real time while we toyed with the game of reform" ("Women in Africa", 2006, screen 1). According to Amnesty International there are inherent deep seeded cultural biases in Sub-Saharan Africa that violate women's human rights and are condoned or overlooked by the state; the disproportionate amount of females in the region affected by HIV/AIDS bears proof of the continued violations occurring within the region. The results of this gender based human rights violations is increased chances of acquiring the HIV viruses as outlined below: Violence against women in the form of rape and mutilations increases the risk Gender discriminations limits a woman's access to treatment and preventative measures There has been no effective worldwide implementation of Women's Rights issues including the UN and UNAIDS directives AIDS is not a country or region problem it is a global problem and requires cooperation of each and every nation. ("Women, HIV", 2004, screen 1). Women due to the very nature of the physiological make-up have a greater risk of contracting AIDS during normal heterosexual intercourse. However, that alone does not account for the wide disparity of infection found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Gender based violence is common an accepted in the region. Women are subjected to rape within the family, forced sex work, harassment at work and school, violence and sexual assault by government officials including police, prison guards, military personnel and border police. Additionally according to Amnesty International (2004) other commonly accepted practices which increase a woman's chances of contracting HIV/AIDS include child marriages, wife inheritance and female genital mutilation. In addition to the violence and sexual degradation there is far less economic independence of women within the region. Without a viable means of support they are trapped within the culture and have little hope of escaping the brutality within the home or within the region without external change being imposed. In closing the findings from Amnesty International (2004) summarised the condition of female human right's violations as follows: Discrimination based on gender hinders women's ability to protect them from HIV infection and to respond to the consequences of HIV infection. The vulnerability of women and girls to HIV and AIDS is compounded by other human rights issues including inadequate access to information, education and services necessary to ensure sexual health; sexual violence; harmful traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and children (such as early and forced marriage); and lack of legal capacity and equality in areas such as marriage and divorce ("Women HIV", 2004, screen 1). 6.3 Human Rights Violations of the Child and HIV/AIDS Article 24 of the UN Rights of the Child mandates that every nation "recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health" (1989). This is not occurring. Children are being infected at an increasing rate and there are a lack of programs in place that are effectively handling prevention. As stated in the opening paragraph of this paper by 2010 there will be 40 million orphans in Africa because of AIDS. Programs are to be in place to ensure that these orphans receive financial support. This is not occurring. Many of these children are unable to afford to go to school because they can not pay the fees (which incidentally are forbidden under the Rights of the Child Treaty). The governments of these countries are ignoring this problem causing these children to live with not only the stigma of severe poverty and lack of education, but no parental support. The cyclic nature of poverty and AIDS will only perpetuate the problem. We, as a global community, sit back and watch it happen. 7.0 Where do we go from here The topic of HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and the effectiveness of the UN policy of human rights is a very complex issue. In addressing the answer to the question and from what the research has yielded, the answer would be no. However, the blame does not lie with the United Nations nor does it lie with any specific country. Further, blaming and pointing fingers will solve nothing. The time taken to do that will see more children die and become orphans. What we need to do collectively is demand that human rights are upheld everyone, by everyone and for everyone. The day we should all look forward to is the day when a treaty spelling out what human rights are, what they should be and how to achieve them is no longer necessary. In the interim there are several discussed that in summary need to be fixed immediately. If treaties will not work then we need to find other measures that will. The important point is they have to occur, and that takes every one of us. Several critical areas need to be addressed as stated; they include: Ender gender discrimination and violence now. Ensure preventative treatment and effective medical treatment is available to all Each country has the responsibility to educate and inform their citizens about the risk, spread, prevention and prevalence of HIV/AIDS We as a collective world need to enforce international treaties. It is as simple as that. Last, each and every one of us needs to make a difference now, whether through financial contributions, volunteering, or passing on the word about the severity of the problem. Together the world can make a difference. The UN is in a precarious position. Treaties are wonderful things when understood and enforced; The United Nations must develop a better means of enforcing Human Rights. It is that simple. Developing measurements are useful tools, but what is to be gained from gathering data on the number of people dying everyday from AIDS in Africa now. The UN, as the lead organisation, in this battle must assume the responsibility for finding a way quickly to see rights are preserved, not on paper but in actuality. Anything less is unacceptable. References AIDS and human rights: a call for action 26 Jun. 2001. [online] Human Rights Website. Available from http://hrw.org/english/docs/2001/06/26/global89.htm [Accessed 23 March 2006] ASAMOAH-ODEI, E., CALLEJA, J. M. C., and BOEMA J. T., 2004 HIV prevalence and trends in sub-Saharan Africa: no decline and large subregional differences Lancet, 364, 35-40. DAC Analysis of aid in support of HIV/AIDS control, 2000 - 2002, June 2004. Development Assistance Committee, United Nations, Geneva. The FTAA, access to HIV/AIDS treatment, and human rights: a human rights watch briefing paper, 29 October 2002. [online] Human Rights News Website. Available from http://www.hrw.org/press/2002/10/ftaa1029-bck.htm#VI.TRIPS-plus%20and%20Human%20Rights [Accessed 21 March 2006] HRC International covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, 16 December 1966. [online] Office of the High Commission for Human Rights. Available from http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/a_cescr.htm [Accessed 22 March 2006] QUINN, 28 February 2006. [online] Challenges of directing international AIDS funding to community-level efforts in Africa. Kaiser Family Foundation Daily Report Website. Available from http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfmhint=1&DR_ID=35671 [Accessed 23 March 2006] ROTH, K., 11 July 2000.[online] Human rights and the aids crisis: the debate over resources. Human Rights Watch Website. Available from http://www.hrw.org/editorials/2000/aids-p2.htm [Accessed 22 March 2006] UN The Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 [online] UN General Assembly Resolution 1386, Geneva. UNICEF Website. Available from http://www.unicef.org/crc/index.html [Accessed 23 March 2006] UN First international consultation on HIV/AIDS and human rights, 26 to 28 July 1989. United Nations, Report of the Secretary-General, Geneva. UN Second international consultation on HIV/AIDS and human rights, 23 - 25 September 1996. United Nations, Report of the Secretary-General, Geneva. UNAIDS Monitoring the declaration of commitment on HIV/AIDS, guidelines on construction of core indicators, July 2005. United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).Geneva. ISBN 92 9 173433 0. U.S.: access to generic HIV/AIDS drugs at risk, 25 March 2004. [online]Human Rights News Website. Available from http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/03/25/usint8234.htm [Accessed 21 March 2006] Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, article 18 WALDHOLZ, M., 15 December 2003. [online] United States: US AIDS funds draw criticism in study. Wall Street Journal online. Available from http://www.aegis.com/news/ads/2003/AD032594.html [Accessed 23 March 2006] Women, HIV and human rights, 24 November 2004. [online] Amnesty International Website. Available from http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGACT770842004 [Accessed 23 March 2006] Women in Africa most affected by HIV/AIDS, need own UN agency to address needs, 20 March 2006. [online] Kaiser Family Foundation Daily Reports Website. Available from http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfmhint=1&DR_ID=36102 [Accessed 23 March 2006] Appendices Appendix A: UN HIV/AIDS Human Rights Principles11 The right to non-discrimination, equal protection and equality before the law The right to life The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health The right to liberty and security of person The right to freedom of movement The right to seek and enjoy asylum The right to privacy The right to freedom of opinion and expression and the right to freely receive and impart information The right to freedom of association The right to work The right to marry and found a family The right to equal access to education The right to an adequate standard of living The right to social security, assistance and welfare The right to share in scientific advancement and its benefits The right to participate in public and cultural life The right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment The rights of women and children. Appendix B: AIDS Rates by Country and Region12 Read More