South Asia Roundtable Dialogue: Legal and Policy Barriers to the HIV Response

The South Asian Roundtable was a joint initiative of SAARCLAW, the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the World Bank, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); under an overarching goal to promote a legal enabling environment and strengthen the legal response to HIV in South Asia.

The Roundtable was designed to build an informed and engaged group of legal professionals and advocates committed to leading the legal response to HIV in their home countries. In pursuance of this aim, the Roundtable created a forum for the examination and evaluation of legal and policy barriers to the HIV response in South Asia.

During the course of the Roundtable, the following law and policy issues were identified as key barriers to the HIV response: the criminalization of behaviors of key populations at higher risk of HIV exposure; law enforcement policy and practices; lack of sensitivity, knowledge and awareness by law and justice sector leaders and stakeholders; the gap between black letter law and practice; and the clear need for greater coordination and collaboration within the law and justice sector.