Bridging the Gap: Conference Record [Abstract book, International Conference on AIDS (12th: 1998: Geneva, Switzerland)]

12th World AIDS Conference

Abstracts 44148-44152 967

issues and concerns using the Convention on the Children's Rights as framework and alternative forms of education techniques as methodology; mentoring a
child-to-child intervention for Youth Health and Development Promotion; convening a workshop of children and youth advocates of various issues to look into the
"girl-child" phenomenon as an issue worth launching among others.
Results: Child Action Desks were set-up by this young members of the society
in seven (7) communities to monitor abuses and provide services to their peers.
A manual on the use of a Filipino Child-to-Child approach in Youth Health Development Promotion was written and produced with and by them; and, some local
units of governance are now supporting efforts of the said population.
Lessons: The Convention on Children's Rights is an effective framework to
use in order to motivate children and youth to gain control over their Health and
Welfare.
538*/44148 A human rights approach to reducing women's
vulnerability to HIV/AIDS
Daniel Whelan. 1717 Massachusetts Ave NW 302, Washington, DC, US
Issue: Research from around the world has revealed how gender-related discrimination contributes to women's vulnerability to HIV and the impact of AIDS.
Despite the need, public health models are ill-equipped to address the broader
context of vulnerability to HIV and AIDS.
Project: Based on the research on women's vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, five key
recommendations have emerged. This project reviewed each recommendation
in terms of enumerated rights under four international human rights treaties, and
analyzed the critical importance of protecting and promoting women's human
rights are to the success of program and policy objectives to reduce women's
vulnerability. The project also reviewed the extent to which human rights treaty
monitoring bodies (TMBs) have considered HIV/AIDS and human rights within
their monitoring work.
Results: Examining women's vulnerability through the lens of human rights
reveals the mutual interdependency of political, civil, economic, and social rights.
The protection and promotion of human rights can be a powerful tool in influencing
policy that can reduce contextual (i.e., economic, social, and political) determinants of vulnerability. Although TMBs have typically not addressed HIV/AIDS,
there has been much progress in bridging the gap between their work and the
work of those working to reduce vulnerability to HIV and the impact of AIDS.
Conclusion: Human rights approaches to reducing vulnerability to HIV/AIDS
will be critical to the success of an expanded response to the pandemic. Such approaches can assist advocates in strengthening their ability to effectively promote
and protect human rights and reduce vulnerability.
44149 HIV/AIDS and human rights networking activities:
Towards the integration of legal and ethical issues into
the ongoing work of community-based organizations
Richard Burzynski1, D. Garmaise2. ' caso, 100 Sparks Street Suite 400, Ottawa;
2Consultant, Icaso, Ottawa, On, Canada
The main thrust of this research project has been to identify ways to protect
and promote human rights and to address legal and ethical issues in the context
of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Particular emphasis has been placed on the role of
networking in this process. Some of the research focussed on the Asia/Pacific
region, but other regions were also included. Research of this scope into the community-based response to HIV/AIDS and human rights issues has never been
attempted before. Objectives of the first three phases of this project included:
*Describing the networking activities being undertaken by community-based
organizations and initiatives being sponsored by the United Nations Development
Programme in the Asia/Pacific region.
* Monitor the development of regional networking activities in the Asia/Pacific
region over the course of this project and explore how ICASO can best support
the development of these networks.
* Examine other communications systems in use in the Asia/Pacific region to
exchange information on human rights and legal and ethical issues and identify
barriers and other considerations relevant to networking.
* Develop a strategy for ICASO and its member networks and organizations to
work with United Nations and other international human rights bodies to promote
HIV/AIDS and human rights issues at the global, regional and national levels. This
would include beginning the process of developing partnerships with mainstream
human rights NGOs.
* Explore how HIV/AIDS and human rights data collection, storage, analysis and
dissemination can help to strengthen networking and to contribute to programs
to protect and promote human rights.
The protection and promotion of human rights is essential to the effectiveness
of care and prevention programs. Community-based organizations (CBOs) need
to integrate human rights activities into their work. Effective networking and communications is critical to this process. CBOs need to strengthen their capacities
and to develop partnerships with mainstream human rights NGOs to carry out
this work. Advocacy and information collection and dissemination also have an

important role to play.

44150 AIDS: A human story
Prasanna Mukundan. 39 - 1A Jalan 2B/133, Sri Sentosa, Jalan Klang Lama,
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
1990 was a good year. The upper middle class family, blessed with a year old
baby boy, looked forward to adopt a baby girl to complete the family. Sale of
babies are strickly forbidden in Malaysia and a few people have been convicted
for their involvement. But in this case an amount of RM 25,000.00 was exchanged
for a baby girl. The child grew up in a pleasant family environment with daddy,
mummy and big brother for six years. There were no serious illnesses but a blood
test done in early 1997 showed her to be positive. The child's world caved in. She
became nobody's child. The hush talks between her parents, the secret phone
calls, all suggested something was amiss. Soon the young lady found herself
in a half-way home with dad's promise to come by. The child has indicated to
residents that she would be going 'home' soon.
The legal binding that parents sought on 'ownership' of child should be stead
fastly applied when faced with a crisis. A commitment undertaken has to be
fulfilled especially in a situation where the child is the innocent party.
S44151 Islam, AIDS and human rights: A framework for
understanding and change
Kareem Ghalib. 5720 Durbin Road Bethesda, Maryland, USA
Issue: Research has shown that members of populations most vulnerable to
infection by HIV are not in possession of their human rights. However, in Islamic
communities of the Arab world, human rights-based health interventions are complicated by the fact that human rights, as defined by the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR, 1948), are not universally accepted. Also, in many of
these communities, social and political conditions necessitate that viable health
interventions accommodate conservative religious sensibilities.
Project: Research was conducted regarding how a health and human rights
framework can be successfully utilized to decrease vulnerability to HIV in at-risk
populations of the Arab-Islamic world.
Results: Within traditional frameworks of health and human rights advocacy,
rights violations are grouped into broad categories of rights, such as economic,
civil and political rights. As the Sharia, or Islamic holy law, is similarly broad, such
frameworks do not clearly identify the areas in which "universal" human rights and
sacred Islamic precepts come into conflict. Given the fact that effective health and
human rights advocacy relies largely upon State support, and State authorities
must be careful not to violate the State religion, traditional frameworks of health
and human rights advocacy are rendered ineffective in an Islamic context. To be
effective in Islamic communities, health and human rights advocates must always
be aware of the ways in which health interventions call upon the State to take
actions that might provoke negative religious responses. This paper proposes
a health and human rights framework that groups rights violations according
to the State response necessary for vulnerability to be eliminated or reduced.
Categories are listed below. Examples with reference to HIV/AIDS in Morocco
are provided.
(1) Non-provocation: Does not involve State provoking negative Islamic reaction.
(2) Indirect provocation: Involves State condoning actions taken contrary to Islam.
(3) Direct provocation: Involves State directly violating a precept considered
Islamic.
Lessons Learned: A viable framework for health and human rights advocacy
in an Islamic context focuses on the degree to which health interventions provoke
negative responses from religious authorities. Depending on prevailing political and social conditions, certain interventions can be immediately acted upon,
while others must wait. This method does not deny the universality of human
rights or assert the supremacy of Islam; it promotes cultural understanding by
acknowledging realities, and identifies opportunities to implement change.
44152 Human rights violations of PLWA/HIV by their family
members by Syed Abdul Mujeeb and Shouket Ali
Abdul-Mujeeb Syed1, Ali-Shouket2. 1AIDS-Surveillance-Centre.
Jinah-Postgradua te-Medical- Centre-Kara chi- 755 10
2Pakistan-AIDS-Prevention-Society Karachi, Pakistan
Background: Pakistan has a very, strong famimly system. In the event of illness
or disease, it is the family that provides the care and support to the patients.
Frequent reporting of human rights violations of PLW/HIV by their family members
is un-characteristic of the local culture.
Method: Patients attending AIDS surveillance center, and who reported violations of their family members were included in the study. A total of 25 human
rights abuses came into the notices. Family members were found accessible in
15 cases. All such cases were investigated with the support of an NGO, Pakistan
AIDS Prevention Society.
Result: In three cases (20%) violations were perpetrated by the in-laws of the
patients. Underline cases were physical existing family feuds like divorce, second
marriage, and marrying outside family. Kinds of violations were physical assault,

isolation and children grabbing. In the rest of 12 (80%) cases, underline cause
was the fear of the disease, and perpetrator were patients own family members.
Kinds of violations were discrimination and denial of the rights of the patients to
participate in family and social gathering. In one case patient was forced to abort
her baby.
Conclusion: In low prevalence areas where prevalence of the disease is still
low and high risk behavior, groups are not found significantly affected with the