Judges’ Forum discusses HIV patients access to justice, equality

A National Judges’ Forum on Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Human Rights, and the Law was convened on Tuesday to enhance the judicial system for individuals living with HIV.

The goal of the one-day seminar is to ensure individuals living with HIV have access to fair justice and equality before the law. The judicial system’s role in the lives of these individuals and other key populations were discussed.

During the opening ceremony at the Marriott Hotel in Kingston, Georgetown, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony said forums like these are important and bring together stakeholders to combat the stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS within society.

“We need to have a more progressive environment if we are going to reduce stigma and discrimination…As a judicial forum, you can think about ways and means of how we can make some of our laws more progressive and reduce the obstacles to care,” the minister stated.

The health minister encouraged the legal professionals to understand the health system and not only look at the stigma from a judicial perspective.

“I think it is important that as judicial officers, you understand some of these things that are happening and work with the public health programmes and other persons who are interested in making the environment more wholesome for people living with HIV/AIDS,” Dr Anthony said.

Meanwhile, the Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards noted that the exercise will add to the knowledge of judicial officers, enabling them to better apply the law and standards to those persons living with HIV/AIDS.

She added that Guyana and the Caribbean’s constitutions have always worked to protect and create a safe space for persons with varying diseases, viruses, and disabilities.

“The delivery of justice to everyone in Guyana must accompany those constitutional imperatives. Equality of treatment for all is integral to our role as judicial officers,” Justice Cummings-Edwards posited.

Also, present were Guyana’s Chief Justice (ag) Justice Roxanne George, High Court Judge of Trinidad and Tobago Justice Avason Quinlan Williams, and UNDP Representative of Guyana and Suriname, Gerardo Noto.

The officials posited that the forum Would drive the equity needed in today’s judicial society for persons living with underlining conditions.

According to Noto, the seminar is a form of encouragement for persons to seek additional help if diagnosed with the virus.

“The evidence is clear, the more protective in enabling the legal and policy environment of a country, the lower the HIV prevalence,” the UNDP representative said.

The Judicial Institute of Guyana, the Judicial Education Institute of Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) collaborated to organise the forum. It sets the pace for another meeting slated for later this year, where additional discussions on the role of the judicial system in the protection of persons living with HIV and other key populations will be discussed.