New York (ILO News) ─ On Friday 10^th June, the United Nations member States recognized the ILO Recommendation concerning HIV and AIDS and the World of Work, 2010 (No. 200) as a key human rights instrument in the global HIV response in the final Declaration of the High Level Meeting on AIDS taking place here.

The Declaration provides that the new international labour standard as well as other relevant ILO conventions and recommendations should guide the international community in mitigating the impact of the epidemic on workers, their families, their dependants, workplaces and economies.

Director of the ILO Programme on HIV and AIDS, Doctor Sophia Kisting said “We welcome the UN’s appeal to world of work stakeholders to take a leadership role in the global HIV response as part of the official UN commitment to intensify efforts to eliminate HIV and AIDS.”

The Declaration states that “We [...] call on employers, trade and labour unions, employees and volunteers to eliminate stigma and discrimination, protect human rights and facilitate access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support”(par. 85). The Declaration also identifies the workplace as one of the arenas to reach and engage with young leaders in the response to the epidemic.

Many key principles laid out in the ILO Recommendation are reflected in the general provisions adopted by the UN assembly of Heads of State and Government and their representatives to consolidate the global HIV response, thus establishing the deep relevance and contribution of world of work interventions.

The UN Declaration states that “people living with HIV, including their families, should enjoy equal participation in social, economic and cultural activities, without prejudice and discrimination, and that they [should] have equal access to healthcare and community support as all members of the community” (par. 40).

The ILO Recommendation was adopted with overwhelming support in June 2010 by ILO member governments, employers and workers. It focuses on the entitlement of all workers, whatever their HIV status, to full participation to economic life. Like the Declaration, it emphasizes the need to protect families, foster the participation of people living with HIV in the design and implementation of policies and programmes and the protection of human rights. The specific vulnerabilities of women, youth and migrants are also to be addressed through relevant measures, and States are encouraged to revise their laws, policies and practices to create an enabling environment.

The need to train and retain skilled health workers was also underlined as being among the biggest barriers to access HIV and AIDS services.

Civil society actors, in particular networks of people living with HIV, demonstrated their strong support for the recognition of the value of ILO Recommendation No. 200 in the Declaration.

On the occasion of the UN High Level Meeting, the ILO co-hosted a side-event to discuss ways to facilitate migrants’ and mobile workers’ access to HIV prevention programmes in partnership with UNAIDS, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Despite the commitment by governments at the UNGASS on HIV/AIDS in June 2001, international efforts still need to be strengthened to address the vulnerabilities associated with the conditions of the migration process, as well as stemming from discriminatory policies and practices. To this effect, Recommendation No. 200 calls on countries of origin, transit and destination to conclude bilateral and multilateral agreements to ensure migrant workers’ access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.

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