At AIDS 2008, the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City, the Open Society Institute Public Health Program and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network are collaborating with a coalition of 24 HIV and human rights organizations and networks to convene the first-ever Human Rights Networking Zone at an international AIDS conference.

This Networking Zone brings together a unique global coalition of organizations to maximize visibility of the human rights concerns of people living with and at high risk of HIV, and to catalyze action on HIV and human rights. It will be located in the conference’s Global Village in networking zone 421, near the entrance to the food court.

The coalition of human rights and AIDS organizations have established the zone as a common space for advocates to gather, organize, and mobilize. The zone’s activities will engage participants in campaigns to end HIV-related human rights abuses and will make human rights accessible, understandable, and practical for everyone. Participants will be signing petitions and the declaration, Human Rights and HIV/AIDS: Now More Than Ever; taking part in letter-writing campaigns; attending skills-building workshops; debating controversial HIV and human rights issues; preparing placards for the Human Rights Rally taking place on Thursday, August 7 from 1:30 to 2:30 in front of the Global Village Main Stage; or simply coming together and meeting colleagues working on health and human rights issues, from around the world.

The Human Rights Networking Zone embraces regional, population-specific, and cross-cutting themes, including:

• Human rights and HIV in Africa
• Human rights and HIV in Latin America
• Human rights in prisons and other detention facilities
• Violence and vulnerability
• Youth, human rights, and HIV
• Human rights in health settings

In addition to the international organizations, Red Mexicana de Personas que Viven con VIH (Mexican Network of People Living with HIV) and Ave de Mexico are coordinating events for the Human Rights Networking Zone. The full program will become available within the next weeks, together with the Delegates’ Guide to Law and Human Rights at AIDS 2008. In the meantime, please contact us if you have ideas for joint human rights activities in the Human Rights Networking Zone or other Networking Zones.

The Human Rights Networking Zone will be open from Sunday, August 3rd at 11:00 a.m. until the closing party on Thursday, August 7th, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.