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Take the rights path - World AIDS Day 2024

UN AIDS

2024 Theme

1 December marks World AIDS Day – a global moment to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS and show solidarity in the face of the pandemic.

This year’s theme “Take the RIGHTS path” highlights that the world can end AIDS – if everyone’s rights are protected.

The path that ends AIDS is a rights path

The world can end AIDS – if everyone’s rights are protected.

With human rights at the centre, with communities in the lead, the world can end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.

The substantial progress that has been made in the HIV response is directly linked to progress in protecting human rights. In turn, the progress made through the HIV response has galvanized broader progress in realizing the right to health and strengthening health systems.

But gaps in the realization of human rights for all are keeping the world from getting on the path that ends AIDS and are hurting public health, and now a surge in attacks on rights is threatening to undermine the progress that has been made.

Ending AIDS requires that we reach and engage everyone who is living with, at risk for or affected by HIV – especially including people who have been most excluded and marginalized. Gender equality is an essential element of an approach to AIDS that is grounded in human rights. Acceptance, respect and care are vital. Laws, policies and practices that punish, discriminate against or stigmatize people – because they are women or girls, or from key populations, or from other marginalized communities – obstruct access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care. So do laws, policies and practices that hinder the work of people who are providing vital HIV services for affected communities or who are advocating for reforms.

The path that ends AIDS is a rights path. Upholding the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights, and fostering inclusion of all communities, are essential for ending AIDS, for ensuring sustainable development and for human security. There is an urgent need to remove criminal and other laws which harm people’s rights, and an urgent need to enact laws and approaches which uphold the rights of every person. The mandates in the international human rights framework have the force of law, and communities have the right to hold duty-bearers accountable for adherence to the human rights commitments they have made.

Key Dates

  • 26 November: UNAIDS will launch a new report at the HQ in Geneva (3pm CET). The report calls on leaders to take the rights path to end AIDS. It shows how violations of human rights, including discrimination against girls and women, and criminalization of LGBTQ+ people, continue to obstruct efforts to end AIDS. It also shows why upholding human rights is essential for ending the AIDS pandemic. The report features the latest research, case studies, and actionable recommendations, along with guest essays from figures such as Elton John, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, Irish President Michael D. Higgins, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, and former IAS President Adeeba Kamarulzaman, among others.
  • 1 December: Join us at the World AIDS Day commemoration event, at Cercle des Bains, where we will honour the lives lost to AIDS and renew our collective commitment to rights to end AIDS.

Please see attached the invitation for both events. If you are in Geneva, you are more than welcome to attend.

We are also pleased to share the World AIDS Day Social Media toolkit, which includes visuals, suggested tweets/posts, banners, quote cards, videos, and more.

Links

Source: UN AIDS