Communique
AIDS Conference 2002:
Protecting the Rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Asia
22-27 November 2002, Chiang Rai, Thailand
Preamble
We have come together, 57 people from 18 countries, at the invitation
of the Christian Conference of Asia, the World Council of Churches, the Church of Christ
in Thailand, and the Chiang Rai Public Health Office.
We have come together in a common faith and having heard the command of
Jesus Christ to “love one another”. These are simple words, and yet they carry a
powerful message to a world and to churches who know too well and sometimes perpetuate the
pain of division, the shame of stigma, and the suffering caused by discrimination. As
churches, related organizations and people of faith, we have come together committed to
the work of healing and wholeness, creating welcoming community, and full respect for the
rights and God-given dignity of all people.
We have come together to ensure that the basic rights of HIV positive
people, people living with AIDS, and people affected by HIV/AIDS are guaranteed and that
all are granted equal treatment. We have come together:
To enhance our knowledge and comprehensive understanding of the
situation of HIV positive people and people living with AIDS from a human rights
perspective;
To exchange and share experiences of promoting rights of the people
living with HIV/AIDS in the Asian context;
To strengthen cooperation and networking among the churches in the
region.
People Living With HIV/AIDS
Our churches are living with HIV/AIDS. We are all affected. We have
friends and family, pastors and priests, co-workers and political leaders, who are
positive or have died from AIDS-related illness. During this conference we have been
inspired and informed by the presence and participation of people living with HIV/AIDS. We
have heard their stories and come to know a little about the stigma and discrimination
that they have faced in churches, hospitals, clinics, schools, and communities.
We are compelled to underscore the importance of our speaking
“with” people who are positive and not “about” people who are
positive. We reject the stigmatizing dichotomy of “them” and “us”
– as the church, we are one body of Christ. Together with all people we are one human
community. We have visited people living with HIV/AIDS and their families in their own
communities to learn more of their experience. The physical presence among us
of people living with HIV/AIDS, their voice, and their experience are great gifts to this
work we undertake together. We are committed to ensuring the full participation of people
living with HIV/AIDS in our churches, organizations, and in the planning and
implementation of programs related to HIV/AIDS.
What We Have Experienced and Learned
We have heard the staggering data about the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Asia,
which is still in its early stages. Millions are living with HIV/AIDS in Asia and these
numbers will double and triple in the years ahead – spreading a dual violence of the
virus and the stigma that accompanies it.
We have learned about the proactive efforts of the Thai government to
combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the open collaboration with NGOs, faith-based
organizations, and groups of people living with HIV/AIDS. And yet, we have also heard from
individual experience that the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS are violated: through
the lack of access to treatment, discrimination in education, and even the insistence that
those who die of AIDS-related illness must be cremated and may not be buried in keeping
with other traditions.
HIV/AIDS is a health crisis, which is straining limited resources.
But it is also a crisis that is harming our communities and destroying our common
humanity by fear based on myth and misinformation. This fear breeds the resulting stigma
and discrimination, which we inflict on people living with HIV/AIDS and their families
– causing more pain and suffering.
There is a particular burden placed upon people whose rights are
already at risk: women, migrants, refugees, illegal workers, prisoners, racial/ethnic
minorities, and sex workers. The status of women must be addressed, and the rights of all
to have access to means of prevention, treatment, care and support must be guaranteed.
Communities can and are caring for people living with HIV/AIDS and
children who are orphaned. Care and support are best provided at a community level, and
stigma and discrimination are best overcome in community. But this requires communities to
be well informed, welcoming, and respectful of the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
In addition, organized groups of people living with HIV/AIDS also play
a vital role of mutual support and encouragement to help members manage their health
status, advocate for their rights, access education, and develop opportunities for income
generation.
We must struggle to find the correct balance between the rights and
responsibilities of individuals and communities regarding HIV/AIDS. We must move beyond
the theoretical and legal debates to practical implementation of protecting the rights and
dignity of people living with HIV/AIDS.
What We Will Do To Protect the Rights of People Living With HIV/AIDS
We are committed to take action in our churches, organizations,
communities, and with our governments to:
Awareness and education
Break the silence about HIV/AIDS; teach and provide information in
our churches about sex, sexuality, and HIV/AIDS
Provide simple and accurate information at all levels within the
churches about the facts of the transmission of HIV, the facts of non-transmission, how
positive people feel about their status, and what is needed in terms of care and support
(e.g. through workshops, Sunday School, youth groups, women’s fellowship,
church-related schools)
Speak openly about, learn from, and overcome our own fears
Overcome stigma and discrimination by replacing ignorance with
information, shame with solidarity, and fear with hope
Educate church leaders about the basic facts of HIV/AIDS, stigma and
discrimination, and the responsibility they have to preach, teach and give pastoral care
Call on church leaders to provide visible and prophetic examples of
what it means to be a welcoming church; and to support them when they speak out and take
initiative
Engage churches in Asia who have not yet taken up this issue, by
encouraging them and providing resource people through the Christian Conference of Asia
Promote large scale efforts to prevent HIV/AIDS including all
effective means to prevent transmission; if the churches’ teaching does not allow
them to promote the use of condoms as one method of prevention, at the very least such
methods of prevention must not be opposed or blocked by religious leaders
Promote universal access to voluntary testing, with pre- and
post-testing counseling; as churches, we will take steps to de-stigmatize voluntary
testing; mandatory testing is not an acceptable option because counseling and treatment
are not universally available, and stigma and discrimination against a person who may test
positive (or even against a person who chooses to be tested) remain widespread
Strengthen the voice and role of women in society and in all programs
related to HIV/AIDS; deepen our understanding in the churches of gender roles and the lack
of power in the hands of women to reduce their own risk to HIV/AIDS infection; and work to
overcome harmful gender norms
Include HIV/AIDS awareness regularly in church programs and services;
ensure that HIV/AIDS is a part of worship and preaching in every church at least once a
month, not just once a year on World AIDS Day
Contribute to and deepen theological understanding of the challenges
of HIV/AIDS; separate sin from the disease
Disseminate information on the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS
Greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS
Become a living example of the principle of “greater involvement
of people living with HIV/AIDS” (GIPA); ensure their participation in program
planning and implementation
Change individual and institutional attitudes in the church to fully
accept people living with HIV/AIDS in our life and ministry; give special attention to
changing attitudes among church leaders
Listen and learn from people living with HIV/AIDS who most often do
not want to be “cared for”, but rather wish to be “respected and
accepted”
Empower positive people; enable them to be advocates, peer workers
and to live as a whole person; promote the concepts of abundant and positive living for
people living with HIV/AIDS
Give careful attention to non-verbal expressions and the language
that we use when speaking of HIV/AIDS and people who are positive; our language should be
non-judgmental, welcoming and not spread misinformation
Care and support
Transform the churches in to communities of care and welcome
Shape our response, programs and services from the expressed needs of
people living with HIV/AIDS and their families, not our own experience or agenda (e.g. to
demonstrate good works or evangelize)
Encourage and grow community-based and home-based programs of care
and support for people living with HIV/AIDS and their families as models that are
compassionate, humane and promote the rights of people who are positive and their families
Change attitudes that lead to stigma by living out our faith and
putting the Gospel in to action: we are all children of God, created in God’s image
Commit to treating people living with HIV/AIDS as we would want to be
treated: with love, care, and affection that is non-judgmental and respects human dignity
Create a safe environment in our churches for people to talk openly
about health concerns, including HIV/AIDS
Advocacy
If our churches and organizations have not already done so, we will
make immediate and public statements of commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS,
overcoming stigma and discrimination, and to people who are positive
Develop our knowledge of international and national governments’
policies on human rights and HIV/AIDS; we will monitor the performance of our governments
and hold them accountable to their commitments
Take public stands for equity and the equal value of all human
beings; promoting the rights of HIV affected people, families and communities (e.g.
accompany a positive person to the hospital or school to advocate for their rights),
particularly the right to health (prevention, treatment, care)
Promote the right to education in communities for people living with
HIV/AIDS and their children
Join in public advocacy efforts for universal access to treatment
(Treatment Access Campaign) with particular attention to: mobilizing resources, full
access to basic medications to address opportunistic infections and anti-retroviral drugs,
production of generic drugs, lifting of tariffs or other restrictions on import/export of
life-saving drugs, increased sharing of experience with herbal treatments
Learn about plans for vaccine trials in Asia, and provide ethical and
theological guidance for their implementation to ensure the rights of people who may
consider taking part
Utilize the International Labor Organization’s “Code of
Practice on the World of Work and HIV/AIDS” to examine the employment policies and
practices of our own churches and organizations, as well as to challenge unjust policies
of non-governmental organizations, corporations, and our governments
Take up the offer of the Asian Human Rights and Development Council
to support a legal case in Thailand defending the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS
Engage our congregations, parishes and church groups in learning
about HIV/AIDS that is linked to action and lobbying our governments
We are deeply committed to working on an interfaith and multi-religious
basis in response to HIV/AIDS. This work needs all people of goodwill. With sensitivity
and care, a common response can save lives and build deeper understanding and cooperation.
We will seek to listen and learn from the experience of other traditions. We will seek out
opportunities for multi-religious exchange and networking related to HIV/AIDS at a local
level. Whenever possible, we will work together in our efforts around awareness,
prevention and advocacy.
Networking will give greater strength and swifter results to our common
work. Therefore we will share information and experiences openly, that we might enhance
each other’s work and learn other churches, NGOs, institutions, government agencies,
and faiths. We will bring the conclusions of this conference and these commitments to our
national and regional churches, partners, networks, and governments to build awareness,
capacity, and action to protect the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. |