Despite wide consensus in the HIV field that human rights protections are essential to successful HIV programmes, sexual and gender minority communities, people who use drugs, and people who sell sex are facing widening and worsening restrictions on their human rights. Harsh new laws limiting sexual and gender minority rights are being considered or passed in multiple countries, including in Ghana, Uganda, and the United States. In this satellite, the IAS-Lancet Commission on Health and Human Rights will present the argument that human rights must be re-centered and prioritized to protect and expand the rights of criminalized and stigmatized communities, and to ensure that we do not lose headway in the progress to end AIDS as a public health threat. The current wave of rights violations and repressive laws and policies are a real and present threat to the global AIDS targets and must be addressed by us all. Speakers will also share the five key recommendations of the Commission on how to achieve this vital goal. This session is addressed at clinicians, clients, programme planners and implementers, researchers, as well as policy makers.