New
modelling shows that if programme coverage falls by
half, an additional 1.1 million children could acquire HIV
and 820,000 more could die of AIDS-related causes by 2040
– pushing the total toll among children to three million
infections and 1.8 million deaths.
Even maintaining
current service levels would still result in 1.9 million new
infections and 990,000 AIDS-related deaths among children by
2040 due to the slow pace of progress.
“The world
was making progress in the HIV response, but persistent gaps
remained even before abrupt global funding cuts disrupted
services,” said Anurita Bains, UNICEF Associate Director
of HIV and AIDS.
“While countries moved quickly to
mitigate the impact of the funding cuts, ending AIDS in
children is in jeopardy without focused action. The choice
is clear – invest today or risk reversing decades of
progress and losing millions of young
lives.”
Latest global picture
According to
the latest 2024 data,
before funding cuts disrupted services globally, 120,000
children aged 0-14 acquired HIV and 75,000 died from
AIDS-related causes, the equivalent of about 200 child
deaths every day.
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Among adolescents aged 15-19,
150,000 acquired HIV, around two-thirds of them girls, with
girls accounting for 85 per cent of new infections in this
age group in sub-Saharan Africa. Only 55 per cent of
children living with HIV received antiretroviral therapy,
compared to 78 per cent of adults, leaving an estimated
620,000 children without treatment.
Sub-Saharan Africa
continues to carry the heaviest burden, accounting for 88
per cent of children living with HIV and more than 80 per
cent of new infections and AIDS-related child
deaths.
Concerns over judicial independence in
Pakistan
Pakistan’s latest constitutional
amendment, adopted without broad consultation, undermines
judicial independence and raises serious concerns about
military accountability and the rule of law, warned
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker
Türk.
Adopted on 13 November, the amendment creates a
new Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) to handle
constitutional cases, effectively stripping the Supreme
Court of this role.
It also overhauls judicial
appointments and transfers, raising concerns over judicial
independence, as the President – on the Prime Minister’s
advice – has already appointed the FCC’s first Chief
Justice and judges.
“These changes, taken together,
risk subjugating the judiciary to political interference and
executive control,” said Mr. Türk. “Neither the
executive nor legislative should be in a position to control
or direct the judiciary, and the judiciary should be
protected from any form of political influence in its
decision-making.”
Erosion of checks and
balances
The amendment also establishes lifetime
immunity from criminal proceedings and arrest for the
President, Field Marshall, Marshall of the Air Force and
Admiral of the Fleet, reported the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“Sweeping
immunity provisions like these undermine accountability
which is a cornerstone of the human rights framework and
democratic control of the armed forces under the rule of
law,” said the UN
human rights chief.
More anti-discrimination laws
needed to support minorities
“Diversity is our
earliest teacher,” said UN human rights chief Volker Türk
at the opening of the Forum on Minority Issues in Geneva on
Thursday.
The forum serves as a global platform for
topics that concern ethnic, religious and linguistic
minorities.
Thursday’s discussion focused on the
root causes of exclusion, discrimination and intergroup
tensions.
Legal protections rolled back
Mr.
Türk lamented that minorities remain disproportionately
affected by poverty, unemployment and
homelessness.
“We see land grabs and displacement,
cultural suppression, and even forced evictions from
ancestral homes and lands to make way for tourism and
commerce,” he said.
He added that even in democratic
countries, some governments are rolling back legal
protections, scaling down quotas on participation and hiring
and authorising raids and surveillance.
The digital
sphere is no better. Around 70 per cent of those targeted by
hate speech on social media tend to belong to minority
groups, he continued.
Fighting discrimination and
hatred
To break the “vicious” cycle of
discrimination and hatred, more anti-discrimination laws
need to be adopted, Mr. Türk stressed, adding that less
than a quarter of countries have such
legislation.
Additionally, minorities must be invited
to participate in politics and the workplace, human rights
should be included in educational curricula and minority
rights defenders must be protected, he added.
Finally,
he called for investment in reliable data systems to hold
accountable those who violate minority
rights.
