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Human Rights and HIV/AIDS“An important aspectof HIV/AIDS policy isto ensure theprotection of the humanrights of those who arevulnerable and alsothose who are infected.Appropriate workplacepolicies that ensureawareness, access tohealth services, nondiscriminationat theworkplace and care andsupport for thoseinfected go a long wayin mitigating the impactof HIV/AIDS”.Atal Bihari Vajpayee,Indian Prime Minister, atthe launch of the IndianBusiness Trust forHIV/AIDS, New Delhi,September 2001Chapter 4Human Rights and HIV/AIDS4.1 IntroductionThis chapter looks at the necessity of usinga human rights approach in the fightagainst HIV/AIDS. It argues that theepidemic can be combated effectively onthe one hand only with an enabling legalenvironment, and on the other, societalacceptance through sustained sensitisationand the elimination of stigma anddiscrimination.Many of the key strategies against HIV—especially those dealing with behaviourchange among vulnerable groups—require a set of legal and statutory changesthat make it feasible for PLWHA to have agreater voice in decisions affecting theirown lives, without fear of beingstigmatised and discriminated against.Treating HIV prevention as a corecomponent of the policy frameworkof human development can helpaccomplish this task, since the objectiveof a ‘caring society’ is common tothe concerns of human rights andAIDS activists.4.1.1 Understanding humanrights within a humandevelopment frameworkHuman rights are now widely acceptedas being central to any community ornation’s effective response to HIV/AIDS.This has been acknowledged both ininternational documents and nationalresponses. 1 It is important, then, to assessthe role and importance of a human rightsframework in responding to HIV/AIDS.Human rights are inherent in andinalienable to every individual. They renderthe government and the larger societyaccountable to the citizen. Every individualhas a right to live with freedom and dignityand ‘citizens’ are the ‘duty holders’obligated to respect, protect and addressthis fundamental need. Human rights arenot given or bestowed upon people byindividual governments or society butare earned by virtue of being born `human’.As Justice J.S. Verma, former chairpersonof India’s National Human RightsCommission so aptly put it, “dignity is theentitlement of all as long as life exists.” 2HDR 2000 defines human rights as “therights possessed by all persons, by virtueof their common humanity, to live a life offreedom and dignity. They give peoplemoral claims on the behaviour ofindividuals and in the design of socialarrangements–and are universal,inalienable and indivisible.” The value of ahuman rights approach lies not only inprinciples such as state accountability andpopular participation, but also in thenormative potential of rights to alleviateinjustice, inequality and poverty. 3Regional Human Development ReportHIV/AIDS and Development in South Asia 2003 73