Publications

Epidemiological data continues to show the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Maldives may be characterized as low prevalence but high vulnerability, risk and epidemic potential. As of 2015, 23 HIV positive cases had been reported among Maldivians, among which 12 have died. In contrast, by 2015, 356 HIV positive cases were found among expatriates during pre-employment screening, and thus were not granted work permits. 9 Maldivians (and 1 expatriate until his contract concluded in 2014) continue to receive antiretroviral treatment provided by the Maldivian government.

A report from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) uncovers the gaps in services and systems in Papua New Guinea, trapping women and children in cycles of severe family and sexual violence. “Return to Abuser” details how a dire lack of protection mechanisms, a weak justice system and a culture of impunity endanger the health and lives of patients even if they manage to reach medical care.  The report includes comprehensive data from more than 3,000 survivors of family and sexual violence that MSF treated in 2014-15 in its two projects in both rural Tari, in Hela Province, and the capital, Port Moresby. It reveals the repeated, often escalating, violence women and children endure in the places they should be safe, their homes and communities.

The purpose of this brief is to set out what “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” means for Key Affected Women and Girls (KAWG) in Asia and the Pacific. The brief looks at the relevance of Agenda 2030 to KAWG in the region. It outlines ways in which KAWG can advocate for issues pertaining to them, by making use of the follow-up and review processes for Agenda 2030; it also describes other opportunities for monitoring and tracking progress. 

Under the leadership of the Government of Bangladesh (GOB), the National AIDS/STD Programme (NASP) and UNAIDS in liaison with civil society stakeholders started the process of the Investment Case for Bangladesh to enhance the mobilization of resources (domestic and external donor) to end AIDS BY 2030 through Fast-Track strategies. The Investment Case makes an effort to outline how to maximize efficient use of resources, based on current evidence, by re-visiting the strategic directions in prevention efforts to fast track and intensify. The process included several review sessions facilitated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, engaging researchers, civil society and government.

The report recognises that the right to health and freedom from ill treatment are inseparable, which places human rights-based prison monitors, particularly those with a preventative mandate, in a unique and critical position to consider these issues. It notes, however, that this is not yet occurring in an adequately systematic or comprehensive manner, and provides specific recommendations to the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) and the United Nations Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT). Alongside the report, HRI has published a monitoring tool to assist human rights-based prison monitoring mechanisms and other prison monitors to generate better informed, more consistent and sustained monitoring of issues relating to HIV, HCV, TB and harm reduction in prisons, and ultimately to help prevent situations and conditions that can lead to ill treatment in this context from occurring in the first place. 

Three decades after the first case of HIV was found in Nepal, HIV has become one of the most devastating diseases the country has ever faced. To date it is estimated that 40,000 people are living with HIV and nearly 4,000 have died of HIV-related illnesses in Nepal. Throughout this time, people living with HIV and key affected populations, have experienced and witnessed many violations of their human rights. The project, ‘Human Rights Count for Key Populations Living with HIV (KPLHIV)’, aims to document these violations, to aid advocacy against them and to devise long-term solutions. In Nepal, the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAP+N) consulted with key population networks and decided to focus specifically on people who use drugs and are living with HIV. This report is a result of community-led research carried out by NAP+N and the Drug Users Network in Nepal (DUNA). Together, they gathered testimonies of human rights violations against people from these populations. In total, 34 people were interviewed for this study.

As the preparations for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on drugs are well underway, the negotiation process has begun for the official outcome document that will be adopted at the Special Session in April. This outcome document should, according to the UN General Assembly, be a ‘short, substantive, concise and action-oriented document comprising a set of operational recommendations… including an assessment of the achievements as well as ways to address long-standing and emerging challenges in countering the world drug problem’.  This IDPC advocacy note offers some reflections and recommendations on the negotiation process itself, and some general recommendations on the overarching tone that should be reflected in the final document.

In step with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and its Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) adopted by Heads of State and Government at the United Nations Summit in September 2015 (A/RES/70/1), this note aims to provide general guidance and elements of a common understanding on a Human Rights-Based Approach to Data (HRBAD), with a focus on issues of data collection and disaggregation. As part of the 2030 Agenda, States explicitly reaffirmed their commitment to international law and emphasized that the Agenda is to be implemented in a manner that is consistent with the rights and obligations of States under international law. They called for leaving no one behind and more systematic data disaggregation to help achieve and measure the goals. As devising (or not) disaggregation of indicators is not a norm or value-neutral exercise, and the risks associated with this operation for the protection of the rights of data subjects cannot be denied, an HRBAD has much to offer in this context.

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), “the daily use of antiretrovirals in HIV-uninfected people to block the acquisition of HIV infection,” is a new tool for preventing HIV transmission and has sparked considerable discussion and debate in many communities. From the International Network of People who Use Drugs, this report summarizes recent research on the knowledge, beliefs, and opinions of people who inject drugs about the pros, cons, and concerns of PrEP for people who inject drugs.

The Board is presenting this special report to Member States in the hope that the analysis and recommendations presented therein may assist them in the development of national policies and control systems that are capable of achieving the goals of the international drug control conventions in relation to ensuring availability of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Member States have already underlined the importance of this issue in a number of resolutions and political declarations adopted by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. They also referred to it in the Political Declaration of the High-Level Meeting of the General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases and in resolution WHA67.19 of the World Health Assembly, on strengthening of palliative care as a component of comprehensive care throughout the life course.