September 28, 2015 In Russia, discriminatory drug policies and their practical applications continue to fuel the spread of HIV by targeting those least able to defend themselves. The Russian government’s response to the world drug “problem” has been a distorted reflection of United Nations drug conventions. The result has been an ugly form of unrestricted … Read more
February 26, 2015 Despite widespread recognition that the so-called “war on drugs” has failed, we continue to read stories from around the world of the unjust criminalization, discrimination and the dehumanization of people who use drugs. In Russia, bad laws that infringe the rights of people who use drugs are fueling the HIV epidemic. People who … Read more
The existing legal framework in Russia makes sex work and related activities punishable offenses, leaving sex workers stigmatized, vulnerable to violence, and disproportionally affected by HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. In light of international human rights standards, in particular the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, we examine in this paper whether … Read more
Russia has the world’s fastest-growing HIV epidemic, driven by injection-drug use, and fuelled by discrimination, criminalization and horrific human rights abuses. This video — produced by the Levi Strauss Foundation’s HIV Advocates program — lays out the work of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network in Russia and other Russian-speaking countries. Our goal, as Senior Policy … Read more
How does a researcher at the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network in Toronto defend the human rights of a person who uses drugs in Russia? Through indispensable partner organizations and the initiative of people who use drugs empowered to stand up for their own rights. In this video produced by the Open Society Foundations, Senior Policy … Read more