A prominent Australian judge has told a conference of Pacific politicians that difficult steps need to be taken to prevent the spread of HIV.
Justice Michael Kirby told the HIV focused conference in Auckland this week the Pacific region no longer had the luxury of "living in denial".
He urged Pacific leaders and policy makers to tackle the difficult and controversial issues.
Some strategies for combating HIV such as promotion and knowledge of condoms and decriminalisation of sex workers were controversial and therefore often given less priority, Justice Kirby said.
"A lot of painful and difficult steps need to be taken."
There was no cure on the horizon for HIV and the expanding cost of anti-retroviral drugs would put increasing pressure on the international community and national institutions.
More time and effort needed to be spent stopping people from getting infected, he said.
The three day conference, which aims to examine ways of ensuring the countries' laws adequately protect the rights of people living with HIV, concludes on Friday.
The 15 Pacific countries involved are Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Nauru, Niue, Tokelau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Kiribati, Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu and Cook Islands.
UNAIDS in its 2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic identified an estimated 78,000 people in the Pacific - including from Australia and New Zealand - were living with HIV in 2005, representing an increase of 12,000 from 2003.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/070412/2/132sz.htmlPAC: Call to recognise rights of HIV sufferers
Pacific Island governments are meeting in Auckland this week to identify what legislation is required in their nations to preserve the human rights of people with HIV. Attorneys General, Health Ministers and senior health officials are among those participating. The three day conference, has been organised by the United Nations Development Program's Pacific Centre, Pacific Regional Rights resource team and UNAIDS. The UNAIDs Co-ordinator for the Pacific Sub-region, Stuart Watson says laws need to be introduced in Pacific countries to ensure the privacy of HIV patients is protected.
Listen | Audio HelpPresenter/Interviewer: Christine Webster
Speakers: Stuart Watson, UNAIDs Coordinator for the Pacific Sub-region
WATSON: The aim of the conference held this week in Auckland is to bring together some very high profile legal and health professionals to have a look at the situation in Pacific Island countries around HIV, the law and human rights. So as part of the conference we'll be presenting reviews of country level legislation around the situation with HIV in the 15 countries that are participating in the conference, and then we'll be taking participants through a range of issues to do with HIV, the law and rights and then presenting some generic drafting instructions that could be used to help countries to develop comprehensive legislation around HIV, and not just the health aspects, but all areas of HIV.
WEBSTER: And how does the legislation in these Pacific countries need to be improved to ensure the rights of people living with HIV are protected?
WATSON: The only country in the Pacific which has comprehensive HIV related legislation is Papua New Guinea. Several other countries have started looking at their legislative environments to see where issues might lie and to begin to think about some of the issues that need to be dealt with from a legal perspective. But in point of fact none of the other countries, other than Papua New Guinea have existing legislation which deals specifically with HIV.
WEBSTER: And this legislation then, what does it involve?
WATSON: Well the first step has already happened, and it's the main objective of the workshop this week. It's the review of the legislative environment in these countries. So we'll be presenting country reports to all the delegates looking at a range of issues that have been identified, areas that need to be tightened up, issues where rights are not being addressed or protected in terms of HIV. Looking at best practice from around the world, we have a range of experts coming from all around the world who will be taking delegates through specific rights related issues. Just trying to identify some of the issues and impediments to ensuring that everyone's rights are protected in relation to HIV.
WEBSTER: The legislation that exists in PNG then what are some of the good things that other countries should be following?
WATSON: Well the interesting thing about the Papua New Guinea legislation is that it's comprehensive; it's done as one package. So rather than trying to identify each individual piece of legislation, existing books that might need to be draft there, their approach was to develop one comprehensive legal approach to the situation.
WEBSTER: What sort of injustices have been happening in the Pacific when it comes to HIV?
WATSON: Well one area that leaps to mind where injustices are certainly rife is around confidentiality, so ensuring that people's identity is protected if they are diagnosed as HIV positive.
WEBSTER: When you talk about the violation of people's human rights with HIV what are some of these, you spoke about confidentiality, but what are some of the other examples of human rights being violated?
WATSON: Well I think one of the most difficult and contentious issues, and it's certainly been an issue that New Zealand and Australia have wrestled with as well, is the issue of wilful transmission. How do we deal with people who know that they're HIV positive yet who continue to engage in unprotected sex? Punitive measures are not shown to work, but that's certainly the reaction of most legislators and lawmakers and politicians have to the problem. So there are a number of very, very tricky and very delicate issues that will be discussed over the next few days.
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Pacific ministers to meet over HIV
Pacific Island attorney-generals and health ministers will meet in Auckland this week to examine ways of ensuring their countries' laws adequately protect the rights of people living with HIV.
Prominent Australian judge Justice Michael Kirby will open the three-day conference on Wednesday.
The organisers, the United Nations Development Programme's Pacific Centre, Pacific Regional Rights Resource Team and UNAIDS, will present human rights-based drafting instructions for legislative reform for ministers to look at.
Preliminary reviews of current legislation in 15 Pacific Island countries relevant to HIV issues will also be examined, particularly as they relate to discrimination, ethics, access to treatment and privacy/confidentiality issues.
The 15 Pacific countries involved are Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Nauru, Niue, Tokelau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Kiribati, Fiji, Tonga, Tuvalu and Cook Islands.
HIV infections are growing in the Pacific region and HIV is increasingly becoming an important concern for governments. UNAIDS in its 2006 Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic identified an estimated 78,000 people in the Pacific - including from Australia and New Zealand - were living with HIV in 2005, representing an increase of 12,000 from 2003.
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