[REPORT] UNAIDS Releases 2013 Guidance Note on Overly Broad Criminalization of HIV Non-Disclosure, Exposure, and Transmission

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On May 28th, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) released their updated guidance titled Ending overly broad criminalization of HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission: Critical scientific, medical and legal considerations. The paper is a follow-up to their 2008 policy brief and details the results of two years of research, evidence-building, and policy dialogue. Key principles and considerations were outlined on the HIV Justice Network website upon release of the guidance. The paper advocates for ending overly broad HIV criminalization by ensuring that legal and judicial fairness are upheld, protecting the human rights of PLWHA involved in criminal cases, and expanding implementation of public health objectives over criminal prosecution wherever possible, using the best available scientific and medical evidence.

Click here for a PDF of the full report.

 

[UPDATE] UN Endorses Asia Catalyst Report on Compensation

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In the good news category, UNAIDS has recently come out strongly in favor of China’s Blood Disaster: The Way Forward, a joint report published by Asia Catalyst and the Korekata Law Center this year. The statement, available here boldly calls for ‘comprehensive and inclusive process of consultation and dialogue involving representatives from government, civil society, people infected through contaminated transfusions, legal experts, academia and other relevant fields.’

[NEWS] US to Cut $550 Million from Global AIDS Funding

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While Secretary of State Clinton has a grand vision of an “AIDS-free generation” the Global Post reports that the White House 2013 fiscal budget actually slashes global AIDS funding by 11 percent. The cause? The administration recently announced that there is still $1.5 billion unspent from the former budget. To put this in perspective, $1.46 billion is roughly three times the annual amount the US government spent on AIDS globally a decade ago.
Read the complete Global Post interview with US Global AIDS ambassador Eric Goosby here and the new PEPFAR guidelines for spending here.

[NEWS] First Steps: UN Releases Statement on Drug Centers

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A joint statement cosigned by 12 UN bodies, including UNAIDS, last Friday, called for all “States to close compulsory drug detention and rehabilitation centers and implement voluntary, evidence-informed and rights-based health and social services in the community.” The statement noted that many of the compulsory centers violate internationally recognized human rights standards often involving physical and sexual violence or forced labor. 

Read the full report here.