Traditionally, there is an understanding that human right defenders organize actions, protest by the parliament, or we think of them as of those having legal education and regularly going to courts. However, every person can be a human right defender. Each specialist who provides services to vulnerable groups is, in fact, a human rights defender.
AFEW International is pleased to welcome Maria Yakovleva as the new member of its Board. Maria joined the Board in May
Community organizations are often not cooperative: each one deals with specific problems and has its own approaches to work. Nevertheless, the Coalition of Four Communities: people who use drugs, sex-workers, people living with HIV, lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people is developing and gaining strength in Kyrgyzstan. Consolidation began three years ago without any financial support. The goal is to make the participation of communities in solving the problems of their groups meaningful, to fight against HIV, to reduce stigma and discrimination. Below we discussed the experience of interaction, successes and plans with the representatives of the Coalition.
Methadone substitution therapy for drug dependent people has been used for many years, but so far there are both supporters and opponents of this method. 40-year-old Karim from Tajikistan shared how he personally benefited from the substitution therapy.
We discussed the human rights issues in the context of HIV in Russia with Mikhail Golichenko. Mikhail Golichenko is a lawyer and Senior Policy Analyst at the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network — organization, which has a special consultative status at the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Previously, Mikhail was a Legal Officer with the UNODC Country Office in Moscow. His work is focused on the promotion of human rights and addressing legal barriers to accessing health rights and effective HIV/AIDS prevention and care programs for prisoners and people who inject drugs. He holds a Candidate of Sciences degree (PhD equivalent) in Law.
Eastern European and Central Asian (EECA) communities will have their own Networking Zone in the Global Village during the 22nd International AIDS Conference AIDS 2018. Now it is time to fill in the Networking Zone with interesting events.
Last week, on 15 May 2018, Penal Reform International launched its annual flagship publication, Global Prison Trends 2018, at the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice. A Special Focus section looks at the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders in the era of sustainable development.
The first edition of PLOV ARTxFOODxCINEMA is coming to Amsterdam on 29 of May. Culinary experiences and cinematographic impressions of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia will come together during the event organised by the AFEW Culture Initiative in collaboration with the partners IDFA and Studio/K. During the event, visitors will taste food from Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA): traditional Russian okroshka beetroot and kefir soup and traditional Asian plov (pilaf) dish. After dinner the documentary “Debut” by Anastasiya Miroshnichenko (Belarus, 2017) will be shown.
AFEW international sets up Martine de Schutter Scholarship Fund that allows participants from Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) to attend the 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018). Martine’s commitment to the international fight against AIDS and her unwavering support to the Eastern European region has set an example for us to follow. That is why AFEW International established the Scholarship Fund named after Martine de Schutter – our friend and fellow activist.
The total of 603 abstracts from Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) were submitted to 22nd International AIDS Conference AIDS 2018 to be held in July in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 182 abstracts out of them were selected for the abstract book, posters and oral presentations. These results were achieved with the support of AFEW International, Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in partnership with EECA regional networks EHRA, ECOM, ECUO and GNP+.
