Policies and Areas for
Attention by Civil
Society’s Participation in
the National Response
Robert Carr
Executive Director
Ministerial Meeting on HIV and Development
in Latin America and the Caribbean
ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review
Jamaica, 4-6 June 2009
Three Case Studies
• Sheila tested positive when she went to the clinic
for prenatal care. Faithful to her husband she
knows she did not bring HIV into their marriage but
he has become angry and abusive and blames her
nonetheless. He refuses to be tested.
• Since he was 13 years old Colin knew he wanted to
be with men, but he saw what happened to
homosexuals in his community. Now 25 years old he
is married and adores his 2 children. He has
clandestine sex when he travels to other islands.
• Carla has become addicted to crack. Her family has
rejected her as a drug addict; she is homeless and
depressed. She thinks she may be HIV+ but is afraid
to get help.
System Wide Coherence
Ecological models illustrate “levels” or “layers” of influence that affect individual opportunities and choices.
Different stakeholders operate at these different “layers” and all must be reached using appropriate channels
and activities in order to shift the barriers to universal access.
Reached through political
groups; lawmakers; religious
leaders, etc.
Structural/
Societal
(e.g. cultural
values;
residence
patterns, policies
and laws)
Reached through local
gatekeppers, employers,
educators, local government,
kin goups,neighbours, etc.
Community and
organisations (e.g.
leadership, networks,
gender norms, social
capital)
Reached by and through
individuals and their
networks
Relationships
(e.g. parents, sexual
partners, sex work
clients, drug use
partners)
Individual
UNDP’S VIRTUOUS CIRCLE
HIV
Prevention
Makes
communities less
vulnerable
Pre-empts need
for further
mitigation
Pre-empts need
for treatment
Treatment
and Care
Reduces risk,
strengthens
communities
Makes
people less
susceptible
to infection
STIGMA
Strengthens
systems for
delivery and
care
Addressing the Impact on Human Development
HIV/AIDS: Implications for Poverty Reduction, UNDP 2001
Pre-empts
need for
future
mitigation
HIV & HUMAN RIGHTS
“Human rights promotion and protection
is central to the response to HIV/AIDS.
Denying the rights of people living with
HIV, and those affected by the epidemic,
imperils not only their well-being, but
life itself.”
HIV/AIDS and Human Rights: International Guidelines, 2003
HUMAN RIGHTS
• Product of social evolution
– Civil rights movements
– Notions of social progress as tolerance
• Linked to political debates
– Regionalism vs. nationalism
– Global governance vs. sovereignty
• Linked to notions of
– vulnerability
– social justice
HUMAN RIGHTS &
CARIBBEAN HISTORY
•
•
•
•
Abolition of Slavery
Labour Riots of 1938
Formation of Nationalist Parties
Arrival of Independence and
Enfranchisement
– The little man
– The barefoot woman
Policies and Areas for Attention
• Civil society’s role in policy and
programming is to
– reach out to the marginalised and
disenfranchised
– remind duty bearers of the irrevocable
rights of rights holders
– speak truth to power in the name of
human development as the building of just
societies
In Summation
We as Civil Society respectfully request that
our governments:
• Respect, promote and fulfil the rights of all
citizens to realise their full potential and to
reduce their vulnerability to HIV
• Adhere to legal obligations signed under
international human rights instruments and
ensure that national legislation is
harmonised with international human rights
obligations
In Summation
We as Civil Society respectfully request
that our governments:
• (i) Repeal legislation which is premised
on prejudicial and oppressive notions
and (ii) pass legislation which advances
social justice without discrimination or
distinction based on gender, sexual
orientation, socio-economic status,
disability, or age
In Summation
We as Civil Society respectfully request
that our governments:
• Address social drivers of the HIV
epidemic such as marginalisation,
poverty, gender, exclusion, violence
and abuse as they undermine our
people’s rights & freedoms and
increase HIV infections in our
communities
In Summation
We as Civil Society respectfully request
that our governments:
• Put in place social protections and
measures to increase access to justice
and AIDS-related programmes for all,
including user-friendly services for
young people and children to ensure an
AIDS-free generation
In Summation
We as Civil Society respectfully request
that our governments:
• Guarantee inclusive structures and
policies that respect civil society’s
right to participation, including our full
and equal participation in resource
allocation for the AIDS response
Thank You