Taking Action to Eliminate Stigma and Discrimination in the HIV Response in the Caribbean by 2015

The Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) mounted a programme of activities under the theme, Justice for ALL. This programme had the full support of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS). The UN Secretary General Special Envoy for HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean was requested to lead the process and thereby helped to accelerate a meaningful response that would contribute towards an “AIDS free generation”.

The aim of the Justice for All programme was to promote activities consistent with the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which all countries are committed. It was more specifically intended to achieve one of the goals of the United Nations High Level Meeting Political Declaration (2011) to eliminate stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV by 2015 and to uphold the human rights and dignity of all.

The programme involved holding a series of national community conversations/consultations between November 2013 and March 2014 and one regional consultation in Jamaica in April 2014. Participants included a cross section of stakeholders—parliamentarians/judiciary, civil society, private sector, faith organizations and youth. Media workers were also be engaged. These conversations/ consultations were informed by a status report on the issues that perpetuate stigma and discrimination and solutions designed to eliminate them. In this regard, it was complemented by the Report of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, Anti-stigma Framework and the Regional Model Policy and Model Antidiscrimination Legislation, developed by PANCAP and a series of relevant outcomes from activities undertaken by the UN agencies, The Futures Group, the Caribbean HIV AIDS Alliance, among others. It was expected that this process would result in countries devising their own strategies toward the elimination of stigma and discrimination by 2015.