The United Nations (UN), in its World AIDS Day message, yesterday urged “all countries to remove punitive laws, policies and practices that hamper the AIDS response, including travel restrictions against people living with HIV” and called for the support of human rights while doing this.

“Successful AIDS responses,” a message from Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, “do not punish people; they protect them.”

The challenge this year, according to the UN, will be to continue doing and do more works “on an urgent basis” to uphold our commitment “to reach universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010”. This goal can only be achieved if HIV related stigma and discrimination are countered. Violence against women, the UN urged, must be eliminated and there must be access to HIV information and services.

Although legal frameworks in many countries institutionalize discrimination against groups most at risk, discrimination against sex workers, drug users and gay men “fuels the epidemic and prevents cost-effective interventions”.

The organization said it was important to ensure that AIDS responses are based on evidence, not ideology, and reach those most in need and affected.

The world, the UN noted, is seeing signs of progress in reversing the AIDS epidemic in some countries and investments in response are producing results. However, new infections are outpacing the gains achieved in putting people on treatment and AIDS remains one of the leading causes of premature death globally.

People living with the virus, the UN said, can be powerful “role models” in leading us to better approaches to prevention, health and human dignity. Their contribution must be recognized, the UN urged, and their active participation in AIDS responses must be promoted.

“On this World AIDS Day,” the UN said, “let us uphold the human rights of all people living with HIV…Let us, especially at this time of economic crisis, use the AIDS response to generate progress towards the Millennium Development Goals.”