ICW Concerned Over Trend to Criminalise HIV Transmission

Submitted by ICW on 9 April, 2008 - 11:19.
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A number of HIV and women's rights organisations, including ICW, are extremely concerned about the trend to criminalise HIV transmission through "model law". The articles and letters below outline why:

  • Article by Aziza Ahmed in ICW 40 - in English, French and Spanish
  • Article by Alice Welbourn in Open Democracy - in English, French and Portuguese.
  • The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network Article - in English, French, Russian.
  • UNAIDS response to the sign-on letter developed by CSOs to raise their concerns about "model laws" that criminalise HIV transmission - in English.
  • Sign-on letter by CSOs to UN agencies written September 2007 raising our concerns (coordinated by the Center for Reproductive Rights).

Model Law on HIV

The Francophone and Lusophone West Africa Model AIDS Law, whilst a good idea in principle, has also several clauses of great concern in relation to the rights of HIV positive individuals. Fortunately, at a recent workshop in Dakar [meeting report], Senegal, NAPWA, Aids and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa, Canadian AIDS Legal Network, ICW, Athena, Human Rights Watch, the Center for Reproductive Rights, GNP+ and various other international civil society organisations joined together with parliamentarians from several West African countries, UNAIDS, Aware, Constella Group and others to take a fresh look at the "Model AIDS Law" which has shaped the laws of these countries and to recommend alternative language for contentious areas of this model law. Below you can access the alternative language that has been suggested by UNAIDS to replace the offending provisions (both in English and French). These may be of assistance to you in making submissions in your own countries on up and coming HIV laws with similar offending provisions. You can also read the letter presented to delegates on Day 1 of the meeting, which outlined the main concerns regarding the Model AIDS Law.