The new Kenyan National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan should address rights abuses that make children vulnerable to HIV infection and impede access to care, Human Rights Watch said today in a policy proposal submitted to the government.

Human Rights Watch welcomes the opportunity to provide input into the drafting of the next Kenya National HIV/AIDS Strategic Plan (KNASP), 2009/10-2013/14. This contribution concentrates on children’s rights, a policy area that we believe needs to be strengthened. Human Rights Watch has carried out research on HIV and children’s rights in Kenya since 2001, most recently on access to HIV treatment.

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo should urgently carry out new recommendations from the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child to protect children from violence and abuse.

Located in the region of the world that has been hit the hardest by the AIDS epidemic — southern and eastern Africa — Kenya made antiretroviral treatment for AIDS free of charge in 2006, and has been lauded for its prevention measures. Yet research that Human Rights Watch conducted there last year shows that the government is not doing nearly enough to treat HIV-positive children, the most vulnerable patients.

About 40,000 children in Kenya are likely to die in the next 24 months if they do not receive antiretroviral treatment (ART).

Human Rights Watch writes to commend Papua New Guinea on its recent accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). Accession is an important step towards guaranteeing respect for fundamental human rights in Papua New Guinea, and we welcome your government’s actions in this regard.