Legal and Policy Perspectives on HIV and Human Rights in the Caribbean

This book is the outcome of a path-breaking symposium on HIV and human rights organized by the University of the West Indies Cave Hill, Barbados, together with the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). An impressive gathering of international agencies, the judiciary, human rights experts, lawyers, nongovernmental organizations, academics, activists, business persons, union representatives, politicians and persons living with HIV together discussed their concerns about stigma, discrimination and the denial of rights.

HIV attracts a wide variety of human rights abuses. However, identifying the best means to address these can be controversial. Should the approach be through constitutions and their provisions guaranteeing human rights generally or should redress be sought through the courts, or ordinary legislation? The contributors consider these questions and illustrate clearly the social and legal issues faced by the protagonists in the HIV challenge and the viewpoints of the policy makers, who must not only encourage new, more rights-sensitive laws but also counter societal prejudices that militate against transformational initiatives.

This diverse text looks at the troubling, topical issue of HIV from several angles and provides a significant contribution to the literature on the subject.