Support for Other UN Agencies
In the late 1980s, Rights and Humanity engaged a number of UN agencies in the issue of HIV/AIDS, encouraging them to play a role within their own mandates to prevent HIV transmission and protect human rights. A number went on to develop AIDS programmes:
- UNESCO prompted education in AIDS and non-discrimination
- the UN office in Vienna added a concern for AIDS prevention into its drug programme, together with a focus on non-discrimination
- the International Labour Organisation (ILO) took up the issues of the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS in the context of the workplace.
In 1994, a number of UN agencies united their AIDS work in the establishment of a new agency: UNAIDS.
World Food Programme (WFP)
Rights and Humanity was commissioned to assist WFP in adopting a human rights approach in its work. In February 1999, we prepared a Briefing Paper on the human rights approach to food and development and represented WFP in discussions with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on developing a common understanding of the right to food.
UN Conference on Trade in Development (UNCTAD)
Rights and Humanity was invited in 2000 to run a training day for UNCTAD staff on integrating human rights into its work. Many of the staff were economists and could not initially see the relevance of human rights in their work. The training provided a new perspective on the importance of human rights for staff and as a result UNCTAD agreed to incorporate human rights issues into its work in the areas of trade, investment and technology.
At UNCTAD’s request, in November 2002, we organised a conference to involve other UN agencies in a joint analysis around the issue of access to anti-retroviral drugs by people with HIV/AIDS.