We think so!

To be more objective, take the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written in 1948 and seen as the basic international pronouncement of the inalienable and inviolable rights of all members of the human family. There are several Articles which infer the idea of human rights being about access to treatment which will keep you alive. Just a few include:

• Article 1

  All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

  (Drugs which can treat HIV/AIDS exist, and if all are equal, then all have an equal right to expect to receive treatment with these drugs.)

• Article 3

  Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

  (If the only way a person is to realise life is to take medication then this is part of their human rights.)

• Article 22

  Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to realise the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for their dignity.

  (This suggests that providing drugs is part of the economic and social right)

• Article 25

  Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for their health and well-being, especially mothers and children.

  (If health is to be maintained, and for mothers not to pass HIV on to their children, then treatment is essential and clearly a human right for both the mother and the child otherwise at risk.)

• In addition, at the 2001 United Nations General Assembly meeting on HIV/AIDS all countries committed to a Declaration of Commitment including equitable access to treatment for HIV as a fundamental component of a global response to HIV.

For more information about Human Rights and HIV see the UNAIDS publication Statement on Human Rights and Universal Access to HIV Prevention, Treatment, Care and Support

For all these reasons we feel that access to HIV/AIDS treatment needs to be seen as a human right.