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We’re still quite excited about the success of Mark Heywood’s trip to China last month.
Mark is the director of the South African AIDS Law Project, and a co-founder of Treatment Action Coalition — two groundbreaking groups working on AIDS and human rights. He’s also chair of the U.N. Reference Group on AIDS and Human Rights. But not quite your typical UNocrat. Asked to deliver a keynote address to the U.N. High-Level Meeting on AIDS last June, Mark agreed, but did it wearing a hipper-than-your-mama black “HIV positive” t-shirt and shades. And he roundly denounced the Chinese government for imprisoning AIDS activist Hu Jia (bucking U.N. protocol that prohibits countries being criticized by name – which raises the question – exactly what are we all doing here again?). Cheers, of course, from the Chinese civil society delegation at the back of the room.
