Media Advisory: High-level commission to unveil report on how bad laws are stifling the global AIDS response & how good laws can send HIV epidemics into decline

Published on Friday, 06 July 2012 07:14 3 July 2012 – The Global Commission on HIV and the Law, an independent body of leaders and experts convened by the United Nations Development Program (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.

Please join us on Monday, 9 July 2012 for a telephone press briefing moderated by Helen Clark, Administrator, UNDP from 9:00 – 10:00 am EST. Speakers will include:

• His Excellency Mr. Festus Gontebanye Mogae, former President of Botswana*
• Congresswoman Barbara Lee, United States*
• Stephen Lewis, Co-Director and Co-Founder of AIDS-Free World*
• Nevena Ciric, More than Help, AIDS +, Serbia • Maurice Tomlinson, AIDS-Free World, Jamaica
• Nick Rhoades, Positive Justice Project, The Center for HIV Law and Policy, United States

*Members of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law

The Commission’s report is based on more than 18 months 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 criminalisation 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.

Press Teleconference
Monday, 9 July at 9:00 am EST Please RSVP to bhumphrey@globalhealthstrategies.com

How to dial-in
USA: 1-800-786-5195
UK: 0800-528-0638
All other countries: please denote the country you will be dialling from in your RSVP, and we can provide you with a toll-free number.

If you would like to request an EMBARGOED copy of the press release and executive summary, please contact Ben Humphrey at bhumphrey@globalhealthstrategies.com or 212-929-7888 X24. The embargo will be lifted on July 9 at 9:00 am EST. Interviews with Commission members can be arranged upon request. Download Media Advisory