23 May 2007
Sensitization Conference for Senators on Human
Rights Issues Related to HIV & AIDS
The Ministry of Justice, Human Rights & Correctional Services, the
Senate and UNDP will jointly hold a one-day conference for Members
of the Senate on Human Rights and HIV / AIDS on Wednesday, 23 May
2007, at Lesotho Sun Hotel, Maseru from 8:30 - 16:30.
Background
Respect of people’s human rights is a priority of the Government of
Lesotho as well as the country’s development partners. Therefore, it
is essential that human rights standards and principles inform the
content of the Government’s development policy and programmes. The
main objective of the one day conference therefore, is to sensitise
Senators on the correlation between human rights issues and the
national response to the HIV & AIDS pandemic.
Members of the Senate play a leading role in the human rights aspect
of the country’s response to HIV through advocacy and scrutiny of
Government policy.
Amongst other things, this conference is intended to raise awareness
and understanding around:
The link between human rights and HIV in Lesotho;
• Addressing issues such as the rights of people infected and
affected by HIV, especially people living with HIV (PLHIV), women,
and orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs);
• The complex relationship between poverty, food insecurity, gender
issues and HIV & AIDS, and how these issues are, in fact, human
rights issues.
In his reform report “In Larger Freedom”, published in March 2005,
the former Secretary-General of the UN, Mr. Kofi Annan, re-emphasised
the centrality of human rights in furthering developmental agendas,
indicating that neither development nor security can be enjoyed
without respect for human rights. As the lead development and human
rights agencies within the UN, UNDP and the Office of the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) have a particular mandate to
mainstream human rights in development programmes, particularly in
the response to the AIDS pandemic in the region.
For more information contact:
Mr. Dyfan Jones
HIV & AIDS Parliamentary Support Specialist
Cell phone: 5850 9045
dyfjones@yahoo.com
Mr. Peter O’Sullivan
UNV Human Rights Specialist, MoJHRCS
Cell phone: 5859 9735
archaeol@hotmail.com
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