Press release

On Monday, 9 July 2012, the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, an independent body of leaders and experts convened by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on behalf of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), will launch a landmark report exploring how law and human rights can transform the global AIDS response.

The Commission’s report is based on 2 years of extensive research, and first-hand accounts from more than 1,000 people in 140 countries. It focuses on some of the most challenging legal and human rights issues in the context of HIV, including criminalization of HIV transmission, drug use, sex work, same-sex sexual relations, and issues such as children’s rights, violence against women and access to treatment. The report includes vital evidence-informed solutions for protecting the health and human rights of people affected by HIV.

The report will be launched with a Global Dialogue: “Bringing the Law Closer to People”

The Global Dialogue will be held at the Dag Hammarskjöld Library Auditorium in New York and can be followed online at www.undp.org/live

The two-hour inter-active dialogue, “Bringing the Law Closer to People”, will be moderated by Zeinab Badawi of the BBC. The dialogue will focus onhow the law can be used to effectively protect and promote the rights of people living with HIV and those affected by HIV – and how this can advance health, development and human rights goals.

Dialogue participants will include:

• Jan Eliasson (UN Deputy Secretary-General)
• Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Commission Chair & Former President of Brazil)
• Helen Clark (UNDP Administrator)
• Festus Mogae (Commissioner & Former President of Botswana)
• Barbara Lee (Commissioner & US Congresswoman)
• Charles Chauvel (Commissioner)
• Prasada Rao (Commissioner & UN Special Envoy on HIV/AIDS for Asia-Pacific)
• Michel Sidibé (UNAIDS Executive Director)
• Civil society participants including people living with HIV

The Global Dialogue will be live webcast at www.undp.org/live

Ask questions and join the conversation on Twitter @HIVLawCom  | #HIVlaws

Follow the Global Dialogue on Twitter