HIV/AIDS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES TO DEVELOP STRATEGY

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Human Rights and HIV/AIDS advocates from across the Caribbean will meet in Kingston, Jamaica on 25 to 26 May 2006 at a workshop to develop strategies for rights based responses to HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Caribbean. The workshop is convened by the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) Law, Ethics and Human Rights project in collaboration with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), as part of its Enhanced Support to HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean (ESAC) programme. Among the stated objectives of the workshop is “to develop a strategy for regional advocacy in HIV/AIDS issues and examine practical opportunities for action at national and regional levels with particular reference to the findings of the national assessments.” In this regard, the workshop will, among other issues, assess the strengths and weaknesses of civil society’s involvement in design and implementation of national responses to HIV/AIDS and identify a set of human rights priorities for action in the field of HIV/AIDS. The workshop begins with a brief opening session on the 25th May, during which remarks will be given by representatives from Caribbean Regional Network of people living with HIV/AIDS (CRN+), Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC) and PANCAP Coordinating Unit (PCU) among others.