I am speaking today on the human rights of men who have sex with men and the UNAIDS perspective. Let me start by saying that UNAIDS does not have formal oversight of any human rights treaty, like UNICEF, but like any UN agency, UNAIDS is accountable for respecting and promoting the principles of the UN Charter. For the staff, the Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service, paragraph 3, state that “The values that are enshrined in the United Nations organizations must also be those that guide international civil servants in all their actions: fundamental human rights, social justice, the dignity and worth of the human person and respect for the equal rights of men and women and of nations great and small.”
