Zero Discrimination Day launched in Beijing

An event was held in Beijing on Thursday to launch "Zero Discrimination Day," to be marked worldwide this Saturday, March 1. In launching the initiative, Michel Sidibe, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said similar events are planned for the days leading up to March 1 around the world. "The AIDS response itself has taught the world tremendous lessons in tolerance and compassion," Sidibe said. UNAIDS has a vision of "zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths." "Zero Discrimination Day is a call to people everywhere to promote and celebrate everyone's right to live a full life with dignity -- no matter what they look like, where they come from or whom they love," according to a UNAIDS press release. The symbol for the day is a butterfly, widely recognized as a sign of transformation. "We know that both the right to health and the right to dignity belong to everyone. Working together, we can transform ourselves, our communities and our world to reach zero discrimination," Sidibe said