14 November 2006
Private sector capacity to respond to HIV/AIDS to be addressed by National AIDS Council Ethics, Law and Human Rights Sector workshop

GABORONE—A one-day capacity building workshop aimed at strengthening the capacity of private businesses to respond to HIV/ AIDS is to be held on Thursday, 16 November 2006, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Gaborone International Convention Centre (GICC).

Ms. Tapiwa Marumo, Registrar of the Industrial Court, will deliver the keynote address at the workshop, which will bring together private business owners to assess and build their awareness of ethical, legal and human rights issues in the context of HIV /AIDS as relates to their respective industries. It also aims to build private sector capacity to mainstream ethical, legal and human rights issues into their individual responses.

The workshop is being hosted by the Ethics, Law and Human Rights (ELHR) sector of the National AIDS Council, which has been mandated to facilitate the integration of ethical, law and human rights into Botswana’s national response to HIV/AIDS.

The ELHR Sector has recently produced a report reviewing Botswana’s existing laws and policies related to HIV/AIDS. The report presents recommendations for legal reform, including changes to the Employment Act to address issues of HIV/AIDS in the workplace. It is appropriate to raise awareness among stakeholders—both employers and employees—regarding current HIV-related employment issues.

The secretariat of the ELHR Sector is the Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS (BONELA), a Gaborone-based non-governmental organisation working on the ethical, legal and human rights dimensions of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Botswana.

For further information about this event, please contact Gladness Diana Meswele, NAC ELHR Sector Coordinator, at 393-2516