About
In its flagship “Risks, Rights & Health” report of 2012 and subsequent 2018 Supplement, the Global Commission on HIV and the Law recognized that the law alone cannot stop HIV transmission, nor can the law alone be blamed when HIV responses are inadequate. However, the Global Commission found that legal environments can play a powerful role in the well-being of people living with or vulnerable to HIV. Without the contribution of judicial members in combatting HIV and related conditions, it is unlikely that significant change in how HIV is comprehended on a societal, legal and medical level will be actualized.
In response to the Global Commission’s recommendation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been facilitating the work of the African Regional Judges’ Forum on HIV and AIDS, which held its sixth meeting in 2019. As the Forum proved to be an important platform for information and experience exchange, raising awareness and sensitizing members of the judiciary on the issues of HIV and key and vulnerable populations, UNDP supported participation of EECA judges in the meetings of the African Judges Forum in 2018 and 2019. The meetings were attended by four EECA judges (from Ukraine, Moldova and Tajikistan), creating a clear demand by these judges to replicate the experience in the EECA region.
On 3 and 4 October 2019, the First Meeting of the EECA Regional Judges’ Forum on HIV, Human Rights and the Law took place in Chisinau, Moldova. It gathered over sixty participants, including members of the judiciary, representatives of national judicial training institutes, officers of UN country offices, and civil society and community activists from 11 countries of EECA, as well as representatives of headquarters and regional offices of UN agencies. It was agreed that the Regional forum should go beyond a one-off event and become a sustainable platform for information and experience exchange among judges of EECA countries on matters related to HIV, TB, Hepatitis C and key and vulnerable populations. It was also decided to form a Steering Committee to coordinate the work of the Forum.
The Second Meeting of the Forum took place on 15 and 16 October 2020. It gathered 88 participants, including members of the judiciary, representatives of national judicial training institutes, officers of UN country offices, and civil society and community activists from eight countries of EECA, as well as representatives of headquarters and regional offices of UN agencies. The meeting, devoted to the issue of criminalization of HIV transmission, exposure and non-disclosure, was moderated by the members of the Forum Steering Committee.
The Third Meeting of the Forum was held on 11 and 12 November 2021 in a hybrid format. According to the EECA Regional Forum’s tradition, the annual meetings take place in a different country of the region each year. This year’s Forum Meeting was hosted by Ukraine and organised by UNDP in partnership with the National School of Judges of Ukraine. The event brought together over XX participants, including judges from eight countries of the region (Albania, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan), as well civil society organizations, experts, key population representatives, and UN agencies. The first day of the EECA Regional Forum was dedicated to criminal matters and the second day focused on a number of civic law topics.