HIV/AIDS in prisons: recent developments

In a report released on 20 November 2002, entitled Action on HIV/AIDS in Prisons: Too Little, Too Late--A Report Card, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network concluded that despite repeated studies and nearly ten years of recommendations for urgent and pragmatic action, the response of Canadian governments to HIV/AIDS, HCV, and injection drug use in prisons remains inadequate. Only a few weeks later, the House of Commons Special Committee on Non-Medical Use of Drugs released its report, which contained a number of recommendations to the Correctional Service of Canada. Although the Committee avoided talking about needle exchange programs in prisons, it did recommend them! Meanwhile, in Ireland, not even condoms or bleach are provided.     

United Nations Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS

The United Nations General Assembly Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS calls for a fundamental shift in the response to HIV/AIDS.     

Warsaw Declaration on HIV/AIDS and injection drug use adopted

Explosive epidemics of HIV among injection drug users are occurring in both developing and developed countries. Globally, it is estimated that 10 percent of HIV infections are attributable to injection drug use, but this proportion is increasing, and is much higher in many countries. Effective interventions exist to prevent the spread of HIV among injection drug users, but in most countries they are being adopted too slowly, or not at all. On 14 November 2003, the Warsaw Declaration: A Framework for Effective Action on HIV/ADS and Injection Drug Use, was adopted at the 2nd International Policy Dialogue on HIV/AIDS. Its purpose is to provide a framework for--finally--"mounting an effective response that will slow and eventually stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic among injecting drug users worldwide."     

The UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS: one year later

This article is one of a series commissioned to mark the tenth anniversary of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. It offers a critical assessment of the impact of the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on national HIV/AIDS strategies and programs in relation to human rights one year after its adoption. The article reviews the process leading up to the Declaration and describes the limitations of the Declaration's explicit and implicit recognition of human rights. It summarizes information provided by countries one year later to the Secretary-General and to UNAIDS on their progress in meeting the goals and targets of the Declaration, particularly with regard to human rights. It comments on what we can learn from this about countries' recognition of the centrality of promoting and protecting human rights. Finally, it suggests ways to monitor more effectively and comprehensively the implementation of a human rights-based response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.     

The UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS: a review of legislation in six Southern African countries

This article reviews legislation of six Southern African countries to determine what progress has been made after the UNGASS Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, particularly with regard to paragraph 58 on human rights and paragraph 69 on rights in the workplace. The article notes the complexities introduced by the coexistence of customary laws and practices and codified law. It describes certain features of specific codified and customized laws. It concludes that, with the possible exception of South Africa, the countries under review have not responded to the challenges the HIV/AIDS epidemic have confronted their legal systems with. They have resorted in the first instance to criminal law, and have allowed discriminatory customary laws and practices, which propel the epidemic, to continue to operate.     

Therapeutic HIV vaccine trial launched in Canada

The first-ever clinical trial of a therapeutic HIV vaccine in Canada is currently underway. The trial is being run by the Canadian Network for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics (CANVAC) in cooperation with Aventis Pasteur, of France, and the Immune Response Corporation (IRC), of the United States.     

HIV,prisons and prisoners' rights

Senior Project Officer, HIV/AIDS and Drug Misusing Offenders Project, at the Standing Conference on Drug Abuse.     

Developments in South African law on HIV/AIDS

South Africa has a powerful legal framework that offers high levels of protection to people living with HIV/AIDS, yet discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS continues to be widespread in South African society. Court cases decided in 2003 regarding children's issues and health care testify to this ongoing discrimination, and to the potential of the South African legal system to uphold the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.     

Parliamentarians take the initiative on HIV/AIDS

In 1999 UNAIDS and the Inter-Parliamentary Union jointly published the Handbook for Legislators on HIV/AIDS, Law and Human Rights. This section describes initiatives taken by parliamentarians to promote legal and policy responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic which respect human rights.     

Ireland: HIV and hepatitis C in prisons

Two studies from the Department of Community Health and General Practice at Trinity College, Dublin, have highlighted the extent of the HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) crisis in Irish prisons. The studies confirm that rates of HIV and HCV are disproportionately high in Irish prisons, and that high risk behaviours are commonplace.     

HIV/AIDS and legal developments in Germany

Case law has helped to define the legal environment for people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS in Germany. This article describes court decisions in three areas that may be of interest to Canadian readers: criminal law, confidentiality, and the use of illegal drugs to control pain. It also describes the situation of refugees with HIV/AIDS.     

Report on complementary/alternative health care and HIV/AIDS

In 2001, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network published a lengthy report on Complementary/Alternative Health Care and HIV/AIDS: Legal, Ethical & Policy Issues in Regulation. The document is the first in a series of papers to be produced by the Legal Network on priority legal and ethical issues related to HIV/AIDS care, treatment, and support. The article below summarizes the contents of the report.