General Comments No.1 on Article 14 (1) (d) and (e) of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa
The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (the Maputo Protocol) is the first international legally binding human rights instrument to recognize the intersection between women’s human rights and HIV. In Article 14 (1) (d) and (e), the Maputo Protocol lays down women’s right to self-protection and to be protected from HIV infection, as well as their right to be informed of their HIV status and the HIV status of their partners in accordance with international standards and practices in force. As such, the Maputo Protocol is therefore, in practice, an important tool towards the alleviation of the disproportionate effect of the HIV pandemic on the lives of women in Africa. Even though considered as a landmark, the provisions of the Maputo Protocol on HIV are not very explicit on the measures to be taken by States Parties to ensure the full implementation of women’s rights to sexual and reproductive health. In order to meet this objective, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (the Commission) adopted these General Comments on Article 14 (1) (d) and (e) at its 52nd Ordinary Session held from 9 to 22 October 2012 in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
HIV Criminalization – Human Rights Fact sheet Series
Series of fact sheets on human rights highlighting the critical need to scale up action on rights. Short, easy to digest and accessible document outlining the latest epidemiology, the evidence of the impact of human rights interventions, the latest targets, and international guidelines, recommendations and human rights obligations.
Other factsheets in the same series released in June 2021 include: HIV and people who use drugs, HIV and gay men and who have sex with other men, HIV and transgender and other gender-diverse people, HIV and sex work, HIV and people in prisons and other closed settings and HIV and stigma and discrimination.
Expert consensus statement on the science of HIV in the context of criminal law
Twenty scientists from regions across the world developed this Expert Consensus Statement to address the use of HIV science by the criminal justice system. Description of the possibility of HIV transmission was limited to acts most often at issue in criminal cases. The authors recommend that caution be exercised when considering prosecution, and encourage governments and those working in legal and judicial systems to pay close attention to the significant advances in HIV science that have occurred over the last three decades to ensure current scientific knowledge informs application of the law in cases related to HIV.
- Alternative links
- Czech: Expertní prohlášení k vědeckým poznatkům o HIV v kontextu trestního práva , French: Déclaration de consensus d'experts sur la connaissance scientifique relative au VIH dans le contexte du droit pénal, German: Expertenkonsens zur HIV-Wissenschaft im Kontext des Strafrechts, Mandarin: 專家共識聲明:刑法脈絡下的愛滋相關科學, Russian: Заявление об экспертном консенсусе в отношении научных данных о ВИЧ- инфекции в контексте уголовного права , Spanish: Declaración de Consenso de expertos sobre la ciencia relativa al VIH en el contexto del derecho penal