Abstract

PIP:

The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Indian Law Institute with the cooperation of UNDP, the World Health Organization (WHO), and other national and international groups organized the International Conference on AIDS--Law and Humanity, held during December 6-10, 1995, in New Delhi, India. The leading speakers focused on the need for a united approach to the HIV/AIDS-related legal issues, which would protect society against the spread of HIV infection and respect the dignity and fundamental human rights of HIV infected persons or those suspected of being HIV infected and their families and friends. All conference participants adopted the New Delhi Declaration and Action Plan on AIDS. The Plan has six principles designed to guide policy makers in developing laws and strategies to help fight against HIV/AIDS. The first principle is that sound and scientific data (not presupposition, prejudice, and stereotypes) should form the basis for all laws and policies on HIV/AIDS. It lays out eight objectives that vary from protection of rights and empowerment of individuals, so that by their cooperation the spread of HIV infection is contained, to allocation of adequate resources for prevention, care, and anti-discrimination efforts. The participants recognized actions that have been or need to be implemented to control HIV/AIDS at the international, national/legislative, executive, and judicial levels. For example, an international action at the international level is expansion of strategies by the High Commissioner for Human Rights for promoting the co-existence of human rights of persons with HIV/AIDS and for containment of the epidemic. The participants resolved to establish both national and international committees to address the national and international implications of HIV/AIDS from the point of view of law and humanity. The international committee should work with UNAIDS, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, WHO, and UNDP.