Law's role in the global response to HIV/AIDS
26 October 2010
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David Patterson, manager of HIV and Health Law at the International Development Law Organisation. |
How can the law be used as a tool in the fight against HIV? A public lecture on Thursday 28 October at the University of Sydney will answer this important question.
This oration is co-presented by the University of Sydney's Centre for Health Governance, Law and Ethics and the Sydney Centre for International Law.
In the lecture, David Patterson, manager of HIV and Health Law at the International Development Law Organisation in Rome, will critically review the role of law in international responses to HIV.
His presentation will identify some immediate challenges, propose ways to address them, and note the implications for other public health challenges in the development context.
More than any other disease, HIV illustrates that law can be both a tool for, and an obstacle to, improved public health. In many developing countries, where the rule of law is often weak, United Nations agencies argue that the "enabling legal environment" for the response to HIV is critically important.
In June 2010, the UN Development Program announced the formation of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, which will report at the end of 2011.
David Patterson is a graduate of the University of Sydney (BSc) and UNSW (LLB). His postgraduate studies include LLM (McGill) and MSc (London). After graduating he joined the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) and edited two editions of the Australian HIV/AIDS Legal Guide.
Patterson co-founded the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. In 1993 he interned with the then UN Centre for Human Rights in New York City, and later obtained UNECOSOC consultative status for both the Legal Network and the International Council of AIDS Organisations (ICASO).
Since 1994, working with UNDP, UNAIDS, and national and international NGOs, he has supported law and policy reform and implementation in the response to HIV in the Caribbean, East Africa, and South East Asia. Since 2009 he has managed the HIV and Health Law Program at the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) in Rome. In 2009 he edited the Toolkit: Scaling up HIV-related Legal Services. David is a member of the Programming Sub-Committee of the UNAIDS Reference Group on HIV and Human Rights.
Event details
What: Law's role in the global response to HIV/AIDS
When: 6 to 7.30pm, Thursday 28 October. Registration at 5.30pm.
Where: Lecture Theatre 106, New Law Building, Camperdown Campus
Cost: Free
Bookings: Sydney Law School website
Media enquiries: Jacqueline Chowns, 0434 605 018, jacqueline.chowns@sydney.edu.au