I am privileged to be a member of the Technical Advisory Group for the Global Commission on HIV and Law.

Please draw to the attention of relevant people and organisations the following call for evidence:

The Global Commission on HIV and the Law has been hosting Regional Dialogues. The dialogues contribute significantly to the evidence which the Commission is considering. Their aim is to engage civil society and government experts in constructive dialogue on issues which the Commission is examining, including

(1) Laws and practices that effectively criminalize people living with HIV and vulnerable to HIV;

(2) Laws and practices that mitigate or sustain violence and discrimination as lived by women;

(3) Laws and practices that facilitate or impede HIV-related treatment access; and

(4) Issues of law and HIV pertaining to children.

Please see attached the Civil Society Call for Submissions for the High Income Countries Dialogue of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, which will take place in California, United States, on 16-17 September 2011. This dialogue will be hosted by Congresswoman Barbara Lee who is also a  Commissioner. The deadline for receiving submissions is 7 August 2011. The Global Commission is particularly looking for Submissions from and via civil society networks in the following countries - Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States.

In particular, the Commission is keen to hear from key government experts - who would be invited to participate. We are looking for a good balance of Members of Parliaments, members of judiciary, representatives from Ministry of Justice, Police, National AIDS Programmes, Corrections etc. "