Publication Language: English

International Assistance Review: an opportunity for Canada to stand up for human rights abroad

When International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau took up her post in November 2015, she was tasked with leading Canada’s efforts to “provide humanitarian assistance to help reduce poverty and inequality in the world” and refocusing Canada’s development assistance “on helping the poorest and most vulnerable.” This renewed focus on marginalized communities must underlie the current … Read more

Submission to Global Affairs Canada: Human Rights Priorities for Canadian International Assistance

“The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network welcomes this opportunity to provide our perspectives on the government’s priorities for establishing an international assistance policy and funding framework. When International Development Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau took up her post in November 2015, she was tasked with leading Canada’s efforts to ‘provide humanitarian assistance to help reduce poverty and inequality in the world’ and … Read more

Don’t Trade Away Health: An Open Letter to the North American Leaders’ Summit

“As civil society organizations concerned about access to medicines, in your three countries and globally, we write to you in advance of your North American Leaders’ Summit in Ottawa on June 29.  The summit is an important opportunity to demonstrate human rights leadership—nationally, regionally and globally—in the Americas. “In February of this year, the United … Read more

New International Report Calls for “Principled Non-Compliance” with Antiquated UN Drug Control Treaties

As an increasing number of jurisdictions consider whether and how to legalize and regulate access to cannabis, tensions are growing between these initiatives and countries’ obligations under the UN drug control conventions. A groundbreaking new report produced by a coalition of legal and drug policy experts offers strategies for countries exploring regulatory approaches to cannabis … Read more

Losing to win at the Caribbean Court of Justice

By Maurice Tomlinson, Senior Policy Analyst, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network June 15, 2016 On June 10, 2016, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) delivered a landmark, but decidedly mixed, decision on the rights of LGBTI people. Three years ago, as a gay Jamaican citizen, and with the support of AIDS-Free World, I launched a challenge … Read more

Canada Can’t Wait: The Time for Prison-Based Needle and Syringe Programs Is Now

“We, the undersigned, represent many different communities and interests. But today we speak with one voice, firmly committed to health and human rights, in support of desperately needed prison-based needle and syringe programs (PNSPs) in Canada. The time for PNSPs is now. In Canada, people in prison face far greater risk of HIV and hepatitis … Read more

Nearly 250 Organizations Across Canada Call for Prison-Based Needle and Syringe Programs

Close to 250 Canadian organizations have signed a statement urging federal and provincial governments to immediately implement prisonbased needle and syringe programs (PNSPs) in institutions across the country. Representing the views of a broad cross-section of Canadian civil society, the statement highlights the overwhelming scientific, empirical and human rights rationale for Canada’s governments to act … Read more

Cannabis Regulation and the UN Drug Treaties: Strategies for reform

As jurisdictions enact reforms creating legal access to cannabis for purposes other than exclusively “medical and scientific,” tensions surrounding the existing UN drug treaties and evolving law and practice in Member States continue to grow. How might governments and the UN system address these growing tensions in ways that acknowledge the policy shifts underway and … Read more