Women's rights

Dr Luiz Loures, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, fully admits that he is not an expert on human rights. He is a medical doctor with decades of experience, but he has seen how ignorance and stigma can prevent access to health care. Loures was a doctor early on in the HIV epidemic. During that time, Loures dealt first hand with the stigma and fear associated with HIV. He often would work 18-hour shifts in hospital, as his colleagues were too afraid to assist with his HIV patients. And patients were diagnosed late, if at all, because of the fear of being labelled with the disease. Things have changed in the 30 years since the HIV crisis first began, he said, but discrimination against people with HIV because of stereotypes and other stigma are still a barrier to accessing health care. “What I see in terms of stigma …it seems like we are stuck in the 80s,” Loures said. “And it is clear today that this stigma is killing (people), and bringing a new crisis (in health care) to u...

"The human rights of those living in fragile, failing or armed conflict states matter now and not only when war is over." This was the resounding reminder given by Ilwad Elman, a Somali-Canadian activist, to a gathering of high-level officials at the UN General Assembly in New York earlier this month. Elman, who works on rehabilitation of armed groups, including children, was speaking at an event co-hosted by the Governments of Sierra Leone, Costa Rica, the Netherlands and the UN Human Rights Office in New York on Sustaining Peace through the Strengthening of Human Rights in International Law. The event placed a spotlight on the need for human rights to be at the core of any steps towards resolving conflicts, building peace and sustaining it. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, echoing Elman’s call, warned against the temptation to cast aside human rights law, particularly the need for accountability and justice, in efforts to secure peace. ...