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Regional Meeting on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights
Michaela Figueira Reposted from AF-AIDS 2002 ([email protected])
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On 25 and 26 October 2002, the AIDS Law Unit of the Legal Assistance Centre of Namibia and the AIDS Law Project of South Africa co-hosted a meeting of organisations working on HIV/AIDS and human rights in the SADC region. This report summarises the outcomes of the meeting.
The purpose of the meeting was:
- to revisit the importance of a human rights based response to HIV/AIDS;
- to share the experiences of organisations working on these issues in Africa
- to explore the establishment of a network of organisations working on HIV/AIDS and human rights in Africa with a view to providing an ongoing forum for the sharing of ideas, experience, materials and expertise on human rights, law and policy in the context of HIV/AIDS.
The meeting was attended by 60 participants, representing 10 SADC countries, namely South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola, Mozambique and Namibia. Emma Tuahepa, Director of Lironga Eparu, (the Namibian national association of PLWHAs) opened the meeting and a keynote address was delivered by Mr Justice Edwin Cameron of South Africa.
Participants shared information on the work currently being undertaken on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights in the various SADC countries represented and identified common needs. Central to these was the need for sharing of expertise, materials and experiences in the region.
To meet these needs, the participants resolved to establish a regional alliance of organisations working on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. The functions of this alliance will be to facilitate sharing of information, materials and expertise between members, to act as a regional alert network to respond to human rights infringements in the region, to organise and facilitate training opportunities on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights for members, to disseminate information on regional developments on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights and to organise annual meetings on HIV/AIDS and Human rights in the region.
The alliance will be co-ordinated by a secretariat hosted by the AIDS Law Unit of the Legal Assistance Centre of Namibia. An advisory board consisting of representatives from the AIDS Law Project (South Africa), the AIDS Law Unit (Namibia), Women and Law in Southern Africa (Swaziland), SAfAIDS (Zimbabwe), ZARAN (Zambia), Lironga Eparu (Namibia) and Programa de Direitos Humanos (Angola).
The meeting was made possible by financial support from Family Health International, USAID, Ibis, VSO RAISA and SAHRINGON.
For further information on this meeting and the regional alliance please contact:
Michaela Figueira
AIDS Law Unit
Legal Assistance Centre
Namibia
e-mail: [email protected]
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