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Let's begin with a story.

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Once upon a time --

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well actually less than two years ago --

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in a kingdom not so very far away,

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there was a man

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who traveled many miles

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to come to work at the jewel in the kingdom's crown --

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an internationally famous company.

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Let's call it Island Networks.

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Now this kingdom had many resources

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and mighty ambitions,

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but the one thing it lacked was people.

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And so it invited workers from around the world

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to come and help it build the nation.

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But in order to enter and to stay

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these migrants had to pass a few tests.

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And so it was, our man presented himself

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to authorities in the kingdom,

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looking forward to settling into his new life.

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But then something unexpected happened.

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The medical personnel who took blood samples from the man

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never actually told him what they were testing for.

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He wasn't offered counseling before or after the test,

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which is best medical practice.

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He was never informed of the results of the test.

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And yet, a couple of weeks later,

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he was picked up and taken to prison

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where he was subjected to a medical exam,

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including a full-body search

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in full view of the others in the cell.

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He was released, but then a day or two later,

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he was taken to the airport and he was deported.

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What on earth did this man do

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to merit this treatment?

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What was his terrible crime?

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He was infected with HIV.

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Now the kingdom is one of about 50 countries

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that imposes restrictions on the entry or stay

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of people living with HIV.

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The kingdom argues

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that its laws allow it to detain or deport foreigners

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who pose a risk to the economy

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or the security or the public health

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or the morals of the state.

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But these laws, when applied to people living with HIV,

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are a violation of international human rights agreements

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to which these countries are signatories.

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But you know what?

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Matters of principle aside,

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practically speaking, these laws drive HIV underground.

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People are less likely to come forth

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to be tested or treated or to disclose their condition,

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none of which helps these individuals

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or the communities these laws purport to protect.

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Today we can prevent the transmission of HIV.

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And with treatment, it is a manageable condition.

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We are very far from the days

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when the only practical response to dread disease

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was to have banished the afflicted --

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like this, "The Exile of the Leper."

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So you tell me why, in our age of science,

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we still have laws and policies

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which come from an age of superstition.

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Time for a quick show of hands.

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Who here has been touched by HIV --

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either because you yourself have the virus

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or you have a family member or a friend or a colleague

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who is living with HIV?

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Hands up.

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Wow. Wow.

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That's a significant number of us.

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You know better than anyone

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that HIV brings out

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the best and the worst in humanity.

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And the laws reflect these attitudes.

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I'm not just talking about laws on the books,

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but laws as they are enforced on the streets

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and laws as they are decided in the courts.

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And I'm not just talking about laws

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as they relate to people living with HIV,

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but people who are at greatest risk of infection --

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people such as those who inject drugs or sex workers

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or men who have sex with men

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or transgendered persons

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or migrants or prisoners.

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And in many parts of the world that includes women and children

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who are especially vulnerable.

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Now there are laws in many parts of the world

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which reflect the best of human nature.

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These laws treat people touched by HIV

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with compassion and acceptance.

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These laws respect universal human rights

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and they are grounded in evidence.

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These laws ensure that people living with HIV

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and those at greatest risk

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are protected from violence and discrimination

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and that they get access to prevention and to treatment.

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Unfortunately, these good laws

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are counter-balanced by a mass

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of really bad law --

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law which is grounded in moral judgement

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and in fear and in misinformation,

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laws which specifically punish people living with HIV

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or those at greatest risk.

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These laws fly in the face of science,

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and they are grounded in prejudice

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and in ignorance and in a rewriting of tradition

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and a selective reading of religion.

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But you know what? You don't have to take my word for it.

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We're going to hear from two people

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who are on the sharp end of the law.

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The first is Nick Rhoades. He's an American.

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And he was convicted under the U.S. State of Iowa's law

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on HIV transmission and exposure --

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neither of which offense he actually committed.

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(Video) Nick Rhoades: If something is against the law

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then that is telling society

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that is unacceptable, that's bad behavior.

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And I think the severity of that punishment

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tells you how bad you are as a person.

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You're a class B felon,

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lifetime sex offender.

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You are a very, very, very bad person.

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And you did a very, very, very bad thing.

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And so that's just programmed into you.

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And you go through the correctional system

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and everyone's telling you the same thing.

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And you're just like, I'm a very bad person.

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Shereen El-Feki: It's not just a question

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of unfair or ineffective laws.

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Some countries have good laws,

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laws which could stem the tide of HIV.

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The problem is that these laws are flouted.

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Because stigma gives unofficial license

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to treat people living with HIV

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or those at greatest risk

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unlike other citizens.

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And this is exactly what happened

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to Helma and Dongo from Namibia.

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(Video) Hilma: I found out

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when I went to the hospital for a pregnancy check-up.

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The nurse announced that every pregnant woman

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must also be tested for HIV that day.

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I took the test and the result showed I was positive.

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That's the day I found out.

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The nurse said to me, "Why should you people bcome pregnant

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when you know you are HIV positive?

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Why are you pregnant when you are living positive?"

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I am sure now that is the reason they sterilized me.

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Because I am HIV positive.

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They didn't give the forms to me

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or explain what was in the form.

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The nurse just came with it

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already marked where I had to sign.

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And with the labor pain,

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I didn't have the strength to ask them to read it to me.

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I just signed.

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SE: Hilma and Nick and our man in the kingdom

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are among the 34 million people living with HIV

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according to recent estimates.

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They're the lucky ones

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because they're still alive.

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According to those same estimates,

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in 2010 1.8 million people died

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of AIDS related causes.

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These are terrible and tragic figures.

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But if we look a little more broadly into the statistics,

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we actually see some reason for hope.

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Looking globally, the number of new infections of HIV is declining.

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And looking globally as well,

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deaths are also starting to fall.

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There are many reasons for these positive developments,

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but one of the most remarkable

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is in the increase in the number of people around the world

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on anti-retroviral therapy,

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the medicines they need to keep their HIV in check.

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Now there are still many problems.

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Only about half of the people who need treatment

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are currently receiving it.

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In some parts of the world --

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like here in the Middle East and North Africa --

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new infections are rising and so are deaths.

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And the money, the money we need

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for the global response to HIV,

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that is shrinking.

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But for the first time

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in three decades into this epidemic

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we have a real chance to come to grips with HIV.

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But in order to do that

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we need to tackle an epidemic of really bad law.

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It's for this reason

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that the Global Commission on HIV and the Law,

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of which I'm a member,

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was established by the agencies of the United Nations --

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to look at the ways that legal environments

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are affecting people living with HIV

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and those at greatest risk,

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and to recommend what should be done

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to make the law an ally, not an enemy,

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of the global response to HIV.

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Let me give you just one example

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of the way a legal environment

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can make a positive difference.

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People who inject drugs

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are one of those groups I mentioned.

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They're at high risk of HIV

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through contaminated injection equipment

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and other risk-related behaviors.

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In fact, one in every 10 new infections of HIV

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is among people who inject drugs.

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Now drug use or possession

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is illegal in almost every country.

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But some countries take a harder line on this than others.

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In Thailand people who use drugs,

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or are merely suspected of using drugs,

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are placed in detention centers,

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like the one you see here,

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where they are supposed to clean up.

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There is absolutely no evidence

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to show that throwing people into detention

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cures their drug dependence.

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There is, however, ample evidence

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to show that incarcerating people

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increases their risk of HIV and other infections.

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We know how to reduce HIV transmission and other risks

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in people who inject drugs.

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It's called harm reduction,

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and it involves, among other things,

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providing clean needles and syringes,

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offering opioid substitution therapy

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and other evidence-based treatments

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to reduce drug dependence.

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It involves providing information

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and education and condoms

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to reduce HIV transmission,

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and also providing HIV testing

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and counseling and treatment

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should people become infected.

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Where the legal environment allows for harm reduction

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the results are striking.

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Australia and Switzerland

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were two countries which introduced harm reduction

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very early on in their HIV epidemics,

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and they have a very low rate of HIV

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among injecting drug users.

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The U.S. and Malaysia

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came to harm reduction a little later,

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and they have higher rates of HIV in these populations.

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Thailand and Russia, however,

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have resisted harm reduction

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and have stringent laws

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which punish drug use.

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And hey, surprise,

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very high rates of HIV among people who are injecting drugs.

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At the Global Commission we have studied the evidence,

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and we've heard the experiences

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of over 700 people from 140 countries.

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And the trend? Well the trend is clear.

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Where you criminalize people living with HIV

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or those at greatest risk,

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you fuel the epidemic.

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Now coming up with a vaccine for HIV

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or a cure for AIDS --

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now that's rocket science.

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But changing the law isn't.

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And in fact, a number of countries are starting to make progress

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on a number of points.

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To begin, countries need to review their legislation

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as it touches HIV and vulnerable groups.

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On the back of those reviews,

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governments should repeal laws

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that punish or discriminate against people living with HIV

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or those at greatest risk.

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Repealing a law isn't easy,

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and it's particularly difficult

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when it relates to touchy subjects like drugs and sex.

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But there's plenty you can do while that process is underway.

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One of the key points is to reform the police

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so that they have better practices on the ground.

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So for example, outreach workers

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who are distributing condoms to vulnerable populations

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are not themselves subject to police harassment

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or abuse or arbitrary arrest.

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We can also train judges

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so that they find flexibilities in the law

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and so that they rule on the side of tolerance

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rather than prejudice.

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We can retool prisons

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so that HIV prevention and harm reduction

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is available to prisoners.

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The key to all this is reinforcing civil society.

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Because civil society is key

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to raising awareness among vulnerable groups

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of their legal rights.

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But awareness needs action.

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And so we need to ensure

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that these people who are living with HIV

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or at greatest risk of HIV

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have access to legal services

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and they have equal access to the courts.

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And also important is talking to communities

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so that we change interpretations

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of religious or customary law,

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which is too often used

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to justify punishment and fuel stigma.

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For many of us here

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HIV is not an abstract threat.

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It hits very close to home.

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The law, on the other hand,

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can seem remote, arcane, the stuff of specialists,

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but it isn't.

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Because for those of us who live in democracies,

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or in aspiring democracies,

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the law begins with us.

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Laws that treat people living with HIV

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or those at greatest risk with respect

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start with the way that we treat them ourselves: as equals.

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If we are going to stop the spread of HIV in our lifetime,

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then that is the change we need to spread.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)