Publications

Two provincial Courts of Appeal have recently released unanimous decisions that clarify the law regarding the obligation imposed upon people living with HIV to disclose their HIV status prior to sexual relations. The decision of the Manitoba Court of Appeal in R v. Mabior and of the Quebec Court of Appeal in R c. D.C. … Read more

The Criminal Code of Canada prohibits certain aspects of sex work: the keeping of a common bawdy-house, living off the avails of prostitution and communicating for the purposes of prostitution in a public place. These legal constraints impede sex workers’ ability to practise their profession safely and without risk to their bodily integrity; they also … Read more

We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations representing affected communities and working in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment, in Canada and around the world, address you in advance of the Millennium Development Goal 6 International Forum taking place in Moscow, Russia on October 10–12, 2011.

1. Laws and practices that criminalize people living with HIV and vulnerable to HIV People who use drugs People in prison Sex workers Criminalization of HIV non-disclosure 2. Laws and practices that facilitate or impede HIV-related treatment access Canada’s Access to Medicines Regime

HRC Resolution 16/3, “Promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms through a better understanding of traditional values of humankind” stresses that “traditions shall not be invoked to justify harmful practices violating universal human rights norms and standards.” In order to gain such an understanding, the Advisory Committee must discuss both the negative and positive ways in … Read more

“We urge the Russian government to abolish the criminal ban on methadone, to support rather than repress harm reduction programs and workers, and to reform its drug laws so as to place health concerns, not further pointless and harsh criminalization and punishment, at the centre of Russia’s response to drugs and the related harms they … Read more

Increasingly more people who use drugs are locked away in the name of drug rehabilitation without any real access to medical care or legal recourse. Drug users rarely enter such detention centers voluntarily, and even if they do, they nearly never are allowed to leave at their will. Detention centres rely on physical abuse, shackles, … Read more

Ukrainian Ministry of Health Resolution No. 634 dated 29 July 2010 brought into force amendments that significantly reduce the legal threshold for “small,” “large” and “extra large” quantities of certain types of illegal drugs, including those most commonly used by people who use drugs in Ukraine. According to the laws of Ukraine, regulatory acts issued … Read more