South Africa is hosting the 18th Commonwealth Law Conference in Cape Town from the 14-18 April 2013 . Read what SECTION27’s Mark Heywood presented on the ‘Rising to new legal challenges: HIV and Human Rights.
Today, the Constitutional Court overturned a ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in the matter of Dudley Lee vs. the Minister of Correctional Services.
Read Mark Heywood’s presentation “Not the ‘end of AIDS’ – Moving from Quantity to Quality in Order to Sustain the Results of Global AIDS Activism” A look at the reality of HIV/AIDS in South Africa’ to Oxford University Student HIV/AIDS Research day (26 November 2012) and European Parliament working group Continue Reading
Join us at the World AIDS Day Conference – 30 November 2012
On 28 August 2012, the Constitutional Court will hear the matter between Dudley Lee v Minister of Correctional Services, which holds serious consequences for human rights, public health and the fight against TB in South Africa.
TAC and partners will hold two pickets during the hearing, one at the Constitutional Court and another at Pollsmoor Prison.
There will be a media briefing at the Constitutional Court during the lunch break. The Court typically breaks for lunch at 1pm.
The Treatment Action Campaign, Wits Justice Project and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, represented by SECTION27, have been admitted as amici curiae (friends of the court) in the case of Dudley Lee v Minister of Correctional Services. Read the documents that will be presented…
A case coming before the Constitutional Court holds serious consequences for public health and the fight against TB in South Africa. South Africa has one of the highest incidence rates of TB in the world. TB is the leading cause of death in South Africa and has been for many years. HIV co-infection and the increasing prevalence of drug resistant TB add to the urgency of addressing the TB epidemic. Doing so should be a top priority of the state.
SECTION27 has sent a request to the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Health, reqesting him to investigate alleged violations of the right to health against the State of Qatar. In October 2010, “MR” was employed by Al Jazeera English as a Senior Editor and moved to Qatar. Following severe discrimination and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by both Al Jazeera and Qatar, MR was detained by Qatari authorities, and then unfairly dismissed by Al Jazeera and deported from Qatar in January 2011. The reason for his detention, dismissal and deportation was his HIV status. This is a direct violation of the right to health and cannot be condoned.
Shereen El Fiki’s TED talk on HIV and the Law How to Fight an Epidemic of Bad Laws
2 May 2012 On 1 March 2012, SECTION27 wrote to the organisers of the international AIDS Conference concerning severe human rights violations against our client, MR, on the basis of his HIV status. MR was unfairly dismissed by Al Jazeera English online (Al Jazeera) and detained in prison and subsequently Continue Reading
On Friday 16 March 2012, health workers, counselling organisations, activists and a representative of the National Department of Health met in Hillbrow to discuss how to improve HIV testing and counselling. The meeting was hosted by the Southern African HIV Clinicians Society, the Treatment Action Campaign and SECTION27.
The participants have produced a joint statement on “How we can improve HIV testing and counselling”. The statement contains a number of recommendations regarding testing and counselling of children, the role of counsellors in the public health system and self-testing, amongst others.
For the full statement and a full list of presentations and documentation from the meeting click “read more” below
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) recently demonstrated its continued support of “MR”, a SECTION27 client who has faced severe discrimination by the State of Qatar (“Qatar”) and Al Jazeera English Online (“Al Jazeera”) on the basis of his HIV status. MR was dismissed from his position as a senior editor at Al Jazeera and detained by and deported from Qatar solely because he is living with HIV. The ITUC recently wrote a letter to Al Jazeera calling for the company to reinstate MR and “play a leading role in working with the Qatari government to eliminate the discriminatory laws that undermine universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and deepen the stigma attaching to HIV status”.
The letter and a press statement from the ITUC are available by clicking “read more” below. SECTION27 wholly supports these calls and believes that Al Jazeera must use its influence to fight discrimination rather than perpetrate it.