Presentation given at UNDP in Oct. 2011, after the completion of the 7 Regional Dialogues of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law. More info on the regional dialogues can be found here: http://hivlawcommission.org/index.php/regional-dialogues

1. What have we learned from the Regional Dialogues:
Issues, Outcomes, Challenges & Opportunities
Update from the Commission Secretariat:
Emilie Pradichit, Vivek Divan & Mandeep Dhaliwal,
UNDP HIV/AIDS Practice
3 October 2011

2. Outline of the Presentation
 Background – the Commission & Regional
Dialogues (RD)
 Key Issues that arose at the RDs – a snapshot
 Outcomes, Opportunities & Challenges

3. Goal of the Commission
To develop actionable, evidence-informed,
human rights-based recommendations for
effective AIDS responses that mitigate the
impact of HIV and promote and protect the
human rights of people living with and most
vulnerable to HIV
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023
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4. Objectives  Outcomes
 Consolidated, coherent and
1. Analyse existing evidence and compelling evidence base
generate new evidence
 Greater awareness among key
2. Develop rights-based and stakeholders
evidence-informed  Leadership of law and policy
recommendations makers to create a positive
legal environment
3. Increase awareness amongst
key constituencies  Public dialogue on social
attitudes, human rights and
4. Engage with civil society and legal issues relating to HIV
strengthen their ability to
campaign, advocate, lobby  Civil society engagement
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023 4

5. 3 mutually reinforcing axes
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6. Regional Dialogues
• Why?
– For the commission to learn from and hear perspectives and
experiences on HIV and the law from the regions….their scope,
scale, impact, contours, nuance
• Evidence of impact of legal environments
– An opportunity to generate/expand constructive dialogue on
issues on HIV and law between civil society and
government…also an opportunity for learning and exchange
across constituencies, countries and regions
– To move beyond identifying problems to developing/ sharing
practical solutions which are relevant to country realities …
mobilising civil society (not just HIV CSOs) and government (not
just National AIDS Councils/ Ministries of Health)
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023 6

7. OVERVIEW: 644 submissions, from 133 countries in 10+ languages
Region Countries Participants
Asia-Pacific Australia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, 140 submissions
Bangkok, Thailand Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, received; 63 civil society
(16 - 17 February 2011) Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tonga, Vietnam & 40 government experts
Caribbean Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, 22 submissions received;
Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago French Caribbean Islands, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and 45 civil society
(12 - 13 April 2011) Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad participants and 25
and Tobago government experts
Eastern Europe & Central Asia Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, 111 submissions
Chisinau, Moldova Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo - received; 56 civil society
(18 - 19 May 2011) UN administered territory, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, participants and 15
Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, government experts
Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Latin America Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican 79 submissions received;
Sao Paulo, Brazil Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, 57 civil society
(26 - 27 June 2011) Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela participants and 32
government experts
Middle East & North Africa Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Mauritania, Morocco, Palestine, Saudi 17 submissions received;
Cairo, Egypt Arabia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen 120 civil society
(27-29 July 2011) participants, religious
leaders & government
experts
Africa Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, 235 submissions
Pretoria, South Africa Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, received; 65 civil society
(3-4 August 2011) Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, participants, 37
Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, government experts
Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
High-Income Countries Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, 40 submissions received;
Oakland, Calif, USA Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA 49 civil society
(16-17 September) participants, 15
government experts

8. PARTICIPANTS
Civil Society Government Experts
• Networks and NGOS of people living with HIV • Members of Parliament
• Representatives of communities of drug users, • Offices of the Attorney General
sex workers, transgender people, and men who • Ministries of Justice
have sex with men • Ministries of Legislative Drafting
• Women’s groups • Ministries of Interior
• Youth networks • Judiciary – Supreme Courts, High Courts,
• Trade Unions Magistracy
• Individual activists, academics, researchers • Prisons Administration
• Legal scholars, human rights lawyers • Police Officers
• Legal Aid providers • Narcotics Departments
• Ministries of Women
Observers from the UN: UNDP country offices, • Ministries of Social Affairs
UNAIDS Secretariat, UNICEF, UN Women, UNFPA,
• Ministries of Child Welfare
UNODC, OHCHR, ILO
• Ministries of Commerce/ Trade
• National Human Rights Commissions
Organised in collaboration with UNDP Regional
offices, & by engaging key regional actors: UNESCAP, • Ministries of Health
OAS, African Union, CARICOM, regional • National AIDS Councils
Parliamentary groups • Ombudspersons
• Ministries of Labour
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023

9. Key Issues
• Laws and Practices That
Effectively Criminalise &
Discriminate against People
Living With HIV and those
Vulnerable to HIV
• Laws and Practices That
Mitigate or Sustain Violence
& Discrimination as Lived by
Women
• Laws and Practices that
Facilitate or Impede HIV-
related Treatment Access
• Issues of Law and HIV
pertaining to Children
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023

10. Criminalisation of & Discrimination against
People Living With HIV and those Vulnerable to HIV
1. Negative health impact of criminal laws
a. Abusive police conduct – constant refrain – possession of condoms
as grounds for arrest/ harassment; unfettered powers to the police
– due to vague, overly broad laws
b. Prevents complaints of violence being lodged by sex workers,
transgender people
c. Prison settings - anti-sodomy laws prevent HIV services from being
provided
d. Prevents implementation of evidence-based harm reduction
services for drug users – legitimises punitive approaches (forced
incarceration) in drug detention centres
e. Moralism of (political & cultural) leaders influences such responses
2. Hypercriminalisation & Discrimination
a. Exacerbates stigma against persons living with HIV – heavy punishment for
HIV transmission/ exposure, repeated denial of access to health services,
jobs, educational institutions, citizenship; travel restrictions
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023 10

11. Violence & Discrimination as Lived by Women
1. Non-implementation of laws that protect
women from violence
2. Absence of laws to protect women against
violence (domestic, sexual assault, forced
sterilisation), discrimination (re inheritance,
property rights)
3. Ill-conceived laws fail to protect women from
violence – marital rape is not defined as ‘rape’,
daughters/ wives are bestowed lesser share in
inheritance of father’s/ husband’s property
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023 11

12. Issues of Law related to CHILDREN
1. Early marriages: girls forced into early marriages sometimes in
contravention of law, but often in absence of prohibition in the law
2. Orphanhood leads to violation of rights: e.g. loss of access to property of
deceased parents through grabbing by relatives, in the name of guardianship.
Current legal regimes inadequately address this or are not enforced and
monitored properly.
3. Age of consent: Lack of recognition of the ‘mature minor’ in order to
ensure that sexually active minors can access vital information and health
services in confidentiality – related to issues of sex education.
4. Discrimination against children affected or living with HIV: denied access
to schooling in violation of constitutional guarantees of equality.
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023 Affiliation Act

13. Issues of HIV-related TREATMENT ACCESS
1. The constitutional right to life/ health fails to assure access
to anti-retroviral therapy (ART)
2. The international intellectual property regime poses a
challenge to access affordable ART:
a. Countries have encountered difficulties in using TRIPs flexibilities
(compulsory licensing, parallel importation, defining patentability
criteria)
b. Developing nations have been pressured to accept the imposition
of TRIPs-plus measures (anti-counterfeiting legislation, free trade
agreements, data exclusivity)
c. Governments readily conceding to TRIPs-plus measures without
full knowledge of the impact on access to affordable ART
3. Challenges with HIV treatment for children - insufficient
access to pediatric ART. Low interest in innovating for
children’s pharmaceutical products
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023 13

14. Positive experiences
a. Working with law enforcement/ municipalities / elected officials
to improve access to services, reduce violence, advocate for
change for sex workers, implement harm reduction services for
drug users, sensitise prisons administration, prosecutors &
judiciary on prisoners rights
b. Active use of and action by Ombudspersons in addressing human
rights violations
c. Key rights-based legislation – e.g. anti-discrimination, recognition
of alternative genders, domestic violence, recognising sex work
d. Important judgments from the courts – e.g. negligence in blood
transfusion, striking down anti-sodomy law, employment rights,
supporting harm reduction services, quashing wrongful patent
applications
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023 14

15. Outcomes, Opportunities & Challenges
• Regional Dialogues have generated substantial evidence
(primary research) on the impact of legal environments on
HIV
• Regional Dialogues have laid the foundation for strengthened
policy & advocacy on law & human rights issues re HIV with
governments, by civil society – use of the Commission’s
website to share evidence and data
• Regional Dialogues have catalysed country action:
– Country requests for legislative review, judicial sensitisation
– National dialogues on law reform
– National dialogue between police and key population groups
– Parliamentary groups
• UNAIDS co-sponsors and UN agencies engagement in follow-
up at country and regional levels – an opportunity within the
UN for greater cohesion on law and human rights issues
Secretariat, Global Commission on HIV and the Law UNDP, HIV/AIDS Practice, Bureau for Development Policy,
304 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017 Tel: (212) 906 5132 Fax: (212) 906 5023

16. Thank You
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