People living with HIV and HIV legal experts from around the world are to convene in Harare, Zimbabwe, later this month for the 3rd Inter-regional Consultation on HIV-related legal services and rights, organised by IDLO. The consultation will take place just prior to the International Conference on AIDS and STDs in Africa (ICASA). Participants from the Middle East, Latin America, Africa and China will share regional perspectives on critical issues for people with HIV and other key affected populations.
“The emphasis of the meeting’, explained David Patterson, IDLO’s senior legal expert on Health, ‘will be to share positive experiences and best practice in addressing HIV-related discrimination, which could be replicated elsewhere. The aim is to identify global and regional areas for shared advocacy, and concrete actions to advance them.”
Specific topics to be addressed include: Responding rapidly and effectively to violations of HIV-related rights; engaging the wider human rights community, integrating HIV with sexual and reproductive health and other human rights; and supporting legal and policy reform to reduce violence and increase access to services
“We are really looking forward to some engaging and productive discussions with our counterparts in Harare,” said David Patterson ahead of the consultation. ‘What makes this event unique and exciting is that we are able to hear from many voices and experts often excluded from these kinds of conferences.’
The consultation in Harare is funded by the Ford Foundation and co-sponsored by UNAIDS. IDLO’s HIV and law program is also funded by the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). A report on emerging themes, challenges and opportunities, which come out of the discussions, will be published in early 2016.
For reports from the previous Inter-regional Consultations on HIV-related legal services and rights, see http://www.idlo.org/english/publications/Pages/Details.aspx?ItemsID=229 (2010) and http://www.idlo.org/english/publications/Pages/Details.aspx?ItemsID=336 (2011)