AIDS Law Project receives AIDS and human rights award

The AIDS Law Project, the recipient of the 2nd Annual International Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, has been at the forefront of the struggle for human rights for people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. It has played a major role in convincing the South African government to implement a national HIV treatment plan.     

Health, Social Movements, and Rights-based Litigation in South Africa

This article investigates the impact of rights-based litigation on social struggles in the South African health sector. It considers the manner in which individuals and social movements have utilized rights and the legal process in their efforts to dismantle the ill-health/poverty cycle, in the particular context of the struggle for universal access to treatment for HIV/AIDS. Relying on literature concerning the transformative potential of socio-economic rights litigation and on examples from South African case law, the article critically evaluates the gains that have been made and the obstacles that have been encountered in this context. It argues that rights-based litigation presents a powerful tool in the struggle against poverty, but also elaborates on structural and institutional hurdles that continue to inhibit the effectiveness of rights-based strategies in this regard.     

Global access to treatment: achievements and challenges

As mentioned in the previous issue, this section of the Review addresses issues related to improving access to adequate and affordable care, treatment, and support everywhere. It replaces the section previously called "Patents and Prices." In this issue, we feature a review of achievements and challenges in recent years in opening global access to HIV/AIDS treatments. The article - one of a series commissioned to mark the tenth anniversary of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, discussing past developments and future directions in areas of policy and law related to HIV/AIDS - describes the developments that recast the debate about access to treatment from one focused on patent entitlements to one focused on the right to health and treatment. It analyzes the role of national and international activism, strategically constructed alliances, and principled leadership in achieving this change. And it discusses continuing obstacles to equitable access to HIV/AIDS treatments for the world's population.     

艾滋病立法与国际人权保障

国际社会已经达成共识,认为有效地控制艾滋病与人权保障之间存在着密切关系,而法律则是实现防治艾滋病的一个重要手段。因此,现实和未来都要求各国通过以保障人权为核心的相关立法,充分保护艾滋病病人和艾滋病病毒感染者的各项基本权利,切实调动社会各方面的积极因素来战胜艾滋病,最终维护人类的共同利益,实现社会的可持续发展。对此,在国际人权法的框架下,结合艾滋病的流行特点,国际社会和许多国家近年来制订了不少准则和法律,以阻止艾滋病的进一步传播。     

Barcelona 2002: law, ethics, and human rights. HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination: a conceptual framework

Only if we understand where HIV/AIDS-related stigma and discrimination come from, and how they are connected to broader social inequalities and the denial of fundamental human rights, can we develop effective strategies to combat them. This article is a much-condensed version of a keynote presentation given at "Meeting the Stigma Challenge: New Paradigms for Civil Society," a satellite meeting held in Barcelona on 8 July 2002, and sponsored by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). The presentation described the conceptual framework underpinning the 2002-2003 World AIDS Campaign, whose theme is "HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination," and whose slogan is "Live and Let Live." In this article, Peter Aggleton provides a conceptual overview of the relationship between the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS and the human rights violations that ensue from them, with the goal of demonstrating the interconnectedness of these concerns. He also provides some examples of concrete steps that can be taken to counter the stigma, discrimination, and human rights violations.     

Access to treatment as a right to life and health

In some countries in Latin America, in the absence of leadership from governments, activists have had to resort to the courts to obtain access to HIV/AIDS treatments for people with HIV/AIDS. In his presentation to the XIII International AIDS Conference (abstract TuOrE458), Edgar Carrasco, of Acción Ciudadana Contra el Sida (ACCSI), discusses the process that was followed in Venezuela. The presentation describes the very limited access people with HIV/AIDS had to antiretroviral therapies and treatments for opportunistic infections under Venezuela's health and social security systems. It provides details of lawsuits that were launched on behalf of several individuals living with HIV/AIDS, and that resulted in the courts ordering the government to provide treatments for these individuals and, eventually, for all people with HIV/AIDS in Venezuela. The presentation concludes that recourse to the courts is a useful tool for activists and that civil actions launched on behalf of people with HIV/AIDS can serve as an example for people with other chronic diseases.     

Inmate sues the Correctional Service of Canada

This article summarizes a lawsuit commenced recently in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice by an HIV-positive inmate in the federal penitentiary system against the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC). This action is an important part of the ongoing struggle to hold government and public officials accountable for failing to address the HIV/AIDS crisis in prisons. The suit contends that CSC must be held liable for the seroconversion of an inmate while in CSC's care and custody, and that it must also be held liable for the alleged negligent provision of medical care to HIV-positive inmates.     

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.     

Chinese scholars call for AIDS rules based on respect for individual rights

In June 2002, the UN Theme Group on HIV/AIDS in China published a comprehensive situation analysis and needs assessment of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the People's Republic of China (PRC). The report, entitled "HIV/AIDS: China's Titanic Peril", also describes and analyzes current HIV/AIDS legislation and policies. It notes that "laws and regulations that are based on fear and prejudice have contributed to fuelling the epidemic instead of curbing it." The report observes that the targets and goals established in China's five-year Plan of Action (2001-2005) are not consistent with the commitments endorsed in June 2001 at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS. It states that the Plan "continues to present HIV/AIDS as a medical problem, and fails to understand the epidemic as a broader development issue." Even where laws could assist, enforcement remains a huge challenge. For example, in 1998 the National People's Congress passed a law prohibiting commercial blood donations for medical purposes. Nonetheless, the illicit and unregulated blood trade, which has rapidly accelerated the spread of HIV infection in China, has continued. When the alarm was sounded by Dr. Wan Yanhai, coordinator of the AIZHI (AIDS) Action Project, the government response was to arrest him. In the following article, Nick Young, editor of China Development Brief, reviews the findings of three studies commissioned by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the role of the law in response to HIV/AIDS.     

A human rights critique of the United Kingdom's HIV response

The National AIDS Trust (NAT) is the United Kingdom's leading HIV policy and advocacy NGO. NAT is committed to promoting a human rights framework for HIV responses through work with communities, governments, professionals, and the private sector, both within the UK and internationally. In this presentation to the XIII International AIDS Conference (abstract WeOrE524), John Godwin and Saul Walker discuss current human rights issues related to HIV/AIDS in the UK, and NAT's perspective on the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights as an advocacy tool.     

Barcelona 2002: law, ethics, and human rights. Introducing ARVs in resource-poor settings: challenges and consequences

In most industrialized countries, AIDS mortality has plunged sharply with the advent of antiretroviral therapy. Yet the majority of people living with HIV/AIDS do not have access to modern HIV care, and some experts have argued that introducing such therapy is not a ranking priority. In this article, which is based on a plenary presentation at the XIV International AIDS Conference, Paul Farmer presents the experience of an integrated HIV prevention and care project in rural Haiti, and explores the challenges to national AIDS programs and other bodies in the "least developed" countries as more resources are made available for HIV prevention and care.     

Caribbean: Regional support for HIV/AIDS law and policy reform

In this article, David Patterson describes the second regional training workshop on HIV/AIDS, law, ethics, and human rights, which took place in Georgetown, Guyana in November 2003; and a grant from the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) to the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP). The grant focuses on human rights, prevention, and care and support.     

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.     

Putting third first: critical legal issues and HIV/AIDS

On 7 July 2000, before the XIII International AIDS Conference, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the AIDS Law Project, South Africa held a one-day satellite meeting on legal, ethical, and human rights issues in Durban, South Africa. Entitled Putting Third First--Critical Legal Issues and HIV/AIDS, the satellite focused on legal strategies to advance the human rights of those most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and to discrimination: people in the developing world, and people who, although they live in the industrialized world, suffer from poverty and marginalization and are at high risk of contracting HIV. The satellite grew out of the ongoing partnership between the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the AIDS Law Project, South Africa, and was co-hosted by UNAIDS.     

Survey reveals knowledge and attitudes of Canadians regarding HIV/AIDS

According to a national survey, almost two out of every three Canadians think the federal government should be spending more to fight HIV/AIDS. The survey also found that: (a) although most Canadians know a lot about HIV/AIDS, there are some significant gaps in their knowledge; and (b) although most Canadians think HIV/AIDS is a serious problem, the vast majority do not consider themselves to be at risk for HIV infection. Few Canadians blame people for contracting HIV through sex or drug use, but many Canadians are still uncomfortable associating with people with HIV/AIDS in certain settings.     

Update to international guidelines on HIV/AIDS and human rights

On 10 September 2002, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released a revised international guideline on "Access to prevention, treatment, care and support." The update to Guideline 6 of HIV/AIDS and Human Rights: International Guidelines reflects significant therapeutic, political, and legal developments in this area since the 12 guidelines were originally published in 1998. The new Guideline 6 significantly expands the guidance given to governments on what international human rights norms require of them in relation to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support.     

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."     

Draft discussion paper on HIV/AIDS and immigration released

In October 2000, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network released a 57-page draft discussion paper on HIV/AIDS and immigration, reacting to the announcement that HIV testing may become mandatory for all prospective immigrants to Canada. A final version of the paper will be released in early 2001.     

输血后艾滋病的司法鉴定

本文综述了近年来输血后艾滋病病毒感染、艾滋病发病情况及其影响因素,强调了按照国家法律,法规,严格控制血液制品进口,采血部门严格筛查,供血单位规范生产,用血医院严把指征,以及受血病人知情理解是避免输血后艾滋病病毒感染和艾滋病法律纠纷的关键。阐述了输血后艾滋病病毒感染及艾滋病发病的司法鉴定工作要点。     

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.