The right to health crucial to HIV advocacy

Michael Kirby and Anand Grover.

On the final day of the 11th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, the importance of human rights in the HIV response was highlighted in a session hosted by the Asia Pacific Council on AIDS Service Organisations (APCASO).

The Honorable Michael Kirby opened the session arguing the need for improved human rights protections for all vulnerable groups, including prisoners, migrants and refugees, which he drew from the 2012 Global Commission on HIV and the Law Report.

Mr Kirby noted that there is a lack of harmony between intellectual property law and human rights, and access to best available care. Intellectual property law was developed well before the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and has not been appropriately updated.

This is particularly important as Intellectual Property Law shapes how medicine are developed and manufactured, and therefore is crucial to the realisation of the right to health. In recognition of this important issue, the UN Secretary General has now convened a high level panel of experts to examine and provide guidance to address this issue, as recommended by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law Report.

Michael Kirby opens the session.

Anand Grover, UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, led a discussion on patent laws, following on from Mr Kirby’s remarks. He noted the differences between final product patent and process patent, how the particular patent type determines whether there is monopoly or competition in the manufacture of drugs, ultimately influences their pricing.

He argued that civil society and community groups need to be supported to understand these particularities of Intellectual Property Law in order to mobilise for advocacy. Mr Grover used the example of advocacy by key affected populations in India against Free Trade Agreements which threaten access to HIV treatments through increasing prices of drugs, which ultimately influenced the Indian government’s position for improved access to generic HIV treatments. At the end of the day, governments are obligated to provide and ensure the right of its citizens to the best possible health care.

APCASO Executive Director Moi Lee Liow commented, ‘Increasingly, in the Post 2015 environment, the right to health will be critical for advocacy to governments to ensure access to HIV treatment and services for key affected populations’.