Michael Kirby: Summing up the UNAIDS meeting on the criminalisation of HIV

In Geneva, from the 31 August to the 2 September, UNAIDS organised an expert meeting to review the scientific, medical, legal and human rights issues related to the criminalization of HIV exposure and transmission. Justice Michael Kirby, a retired judge of the High Court of Australia and member of Pacific Friends’ Coordinating Committee, was one of the experts to review the application of the criminal law to HIV.

Here an excerpt from an interview with Michael Kirby at the UNAIDS expert meeting in Geneva:

There are some exceptional cases where the criminal law has a role to play. However, the criminal law has been pushed into a whole range of other activities which are counter-productive from the point of view of a public health response to HIV. The use of criminal law is also likely to lead to disproportionate and highly punitive measures which are not helpful in responding to the epidemic in a way that prevents the spread of HIV.

After the meeting Michael Kirby did a wonderful job in summing up the key points and views from the high-level meeting in this report.

Visit of UNAIDS Executive Director

Executive Director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidibé, visited Australia on 27-31 August. Mr Sidibé spoke at the Lowy Institute for International Policy on the challenges and responses to the global HIV epidemic, addressed the plenary at the UN DPI/NGO conference in Melbourne, opened The Michael Kirby Centre for Public Health and Human Rights at Monash University, and spoke to several government officials in Canberra.

Michel Sidibé addressing the Lowy Institute on the global HIV/AIDS pandemic:

Prior to visiting Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra Mr Sidibé spent two days in Papua New Guinea where he discussed the just released HIV estimates and the country’s declining HIV rates.

In Sydney Mr Sidibé started the day with radio and television interviews (see ABC media coverage below). After that he addressed the Lowy Institute as part of the Distinguished Speaker Series on the challenges and responses to the global HIV epidemic and participated in a lunch roundtable hosted by the Lowy Institute. After that Mr Sidibé visited Sydney’s Medically Supervised Injecting Centre in Kings Cross, where the centre’s Director Dr. Marianne Jauncey showed him around. At the end of the day Michel was welcomed by the community at a reception in Darlinghurst.

ABC media coverage of Michel Sidibé’s visit to Sydney: