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.
Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony, addressing the forum, said such forum serves as an important platform to bring together stakeholders to combat the stigma and discrimination against HIV/AIDS within society, calling for a more progressive environment to reduce these. He urged the judiciary to think about ways and means to make the laws more progressive and reduce the obstacles to care.
Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards pointed out that the forum will add to the knowledge of judicial officers, enabling them to better apply the law and standards to 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 Judicial Institute of Guyana, the Judicial Education Institute of Trinidad and Tobago, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) collaborated to organise the forum.
A similar forum is expected 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.
