The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF), the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP), The Global Network of Trans Women and HIV (IRGT), the Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE), and the Global Platform to Fast-Track the HIV and Human Rights Responses Among Gay and Bisexual Men and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men (The Platform) have called the Political Declaration a ‘high level failure’ on key population. Read their statement here.
In a Civil Society and Communities Declaration to End HIV, civil society organisations worldwide expressed profound dissatisfaction with the Political Declaration. To end HIV, they said that government must undertake critical steps, which cover, among others, a need to ensure that the HIV response is inclusive of key populations and that human rights are protected and promoted. They also called for an end to the criminalisation of HIV transmission, exposure and non-disclosure, and for governments to achieve gender equality. The CS declaration also pushed for treatment access for all people living with HIV and for the revival of the ‘prevention revolution.’ Read the full Civil Society and Communities Declaration to End HIV here.
(Photo courtesy of www.msmgf.org)
Leaving Key Populations Behind
Frustration and disappointment were evident among global key population networks and organisations over the adoption of a a Political Declaration that has unacceptably excluded clear strategies to address the HIV epidemic among key populations, especially men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who use drugs, and transgender people. Download a copy of the declaration here.
Asia-Pacific Statement on the HLM
At the HLM, regional key population networks and regional civil society groups, including APCASO, have urged member states to:
- Ensure that key populations are named and identified in the Political Declaration, especially in the context of strategies and responses, including funding.
- Commit to a roadmap to remove legal barriers, such as the criminalisation of key populations, age restrictions for young key populations, and HIV-related travel restrictions, among others.
- Guarantee universal access to key interventions, from harm reduction and SRHR services to HIV information services and sexuality education for all, and ensure implementation of prevention and care strategies for women.
- Provide an enabling environment and political space for CSOs so that they can engage meaningfully in the response;
- Develop a robust, systematic scoping of country commitments to uphold the human rights of key populations and women and girls.
- Ensure access to affordable, quality treatment and diagnostics for HIV, Hep-C, and TB by utilising TRIPS flexibilities to prevent patent rights abuses and by rejecting TRIP-Plus provisions in multilateral and bilateral trade deals.