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Biomedical subjects

Richard Elliott

Publications and source records attributed to Richard Elliott.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Scaling up HIV testing: human rights and hidden costs.

The calls for provider-initiated routine HIV testing are growing more intense. In this article, Joanne Csete and Richard Elliott discuss the human rights and ethical issues raised by the routine testing approach. Some points in this paper are inspired by an international expert meeting on HIV testing and human rights convened by the Center for Health and Gender Equity, Gay Men's Health Crisis and the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network in Montreal in October 2005. The meeting was attended by academic experts, UN officials, activists and people living with HIV/AIDS from around the world.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗
PubMed2005

Protection against discrimination based on HIV/AIDS status in Canada: the legal framework.

Respecting, protecting ,and fulfilling the human rights of people living with, and vulnerable to, HIV/AIDS has been recognized as an essential element of ethical and effective responses to the epidemic. Human rights law provides one critical tool for implementing a human rights-based approach to HIV/AIDS. Freedom from discrimination is a foundational human rights principle, and is a touchstone of both international and domestic human rights law. This article examines the ways in which Canadian law currently protects people against discrimination based on HIV/AIDS status. The article also reviews the equality rights provision of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; federal, provincial, and territorial anti-discrimination statutes and policies; and some of the key cases that have applied and developed these legislative protections. Finally, the article looks at the issue of remedies for discrimination under Canadian law. (Other forms of discrimination relevant to people living with HIV/AIDS--specifically, discrimination based on grounds relevant to people from groups disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS-related stigma--will be analyzed in similar detail in a future issue of the Review.)

Canada↗
PubMed2005

Harm reduction, HIV/AIDS, and the human rights challenge to global drug control policy.

The global HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the role of unsafe drug injection as one of its principal drivers, have added to the list of harms associated with unsafe drug use. HIV/AIDS has highlighted ways in which prohibitionist drug policy causes or contributes to such harms and focused attention on the international regime of illicit drug control. At the same time, HIV/AIDS has catalyzed the "health and human rights movement" to articulate legal and policy responses that both represent sound public health policy and fulfill human rights obligations recognized in international law; this necessarily includes scrutinizing the interpretation and implementation of the UN drug control conventions. This article brings together public health evidence and legal analysis as a contribution toward changing the global drug control regime to a more health-friendly, human rights-based system.

Anti-HIV Agents↗
PubMed2004

Steps forward, backward, and sideways: Canada's bill on exporting generic pharmaceuticals.

In May 2004 Canada's Parliament passed Bill C-9, amending the Patent Act to provide for the compulsory licensing of patented pharmaceutical products. The bill allows generic manufacturers to make cheaper, generic versions of patented products and export them to countries that do not have sufficient capacity to produce their own. Canada thus became the first country to pass legislation implementing a World Trade Organization (WTO) Decision that relaxed WTO rules on pharmaceutical patents. Civil society organizations campaigned to enhance the bill before it passed, and succeeded in obtaining significant improvements. However, the final bill is marred by flaws that mean it falls short of being a "model" that should simply be replicated elsewhere. This article is the second in a series tracing the evolution of Canada's legislation. It reviews the developments leading up to the adoption of Bill C-9 in its final form, and analyzes its positive and negative aspects. Hopefully, other advocates can learn from this experience and other countries can avoid replicating the negative aspects as they implement the WTO Decision.

Canada↗
PubMed2004

Bangkok 2004. Drug control, human rights, and harm reduction in the age of AIDS.

In many countries, HIV prevalence among people who use illicit drugs is high. Yet many governments resist implementing effective HIV prevention measures, and drug users often lack access to care, treatment, and support, including for HIV/AIDS. Growing evidence indicates the dominant prohibitionist approach to illicit drugs is ineffective--and even counterproductive, blocking or undermining measures shown to reduce harms to drug users and to communities affected by open drug scenes. The growing debate over global drug control policy could shift us collectively away from the current, failed prescriptions to a more rational, pragmatic, and health-promoting framework of harm reduction. This article by Richard Elliott is an abridged version of a paper prepared for "Human Rights at the Margins: HIV/AIDS, Prisoners, Drug Users and the Law," a satellite meeting held in Bangkok on 9 July 2004, and organized by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the Lawyers Collective HIV/AIDS Unit (India). The article briefly outlines the impact of these two different policy approaches, examines international law on drug control, discusses how harm reduction reflects a human rights-based approach to drugs, and assesses some strategies for reforming global policy on illicit drugs.

Drug and Narcotic Control↗
PubMed2003

Regulation of the Wnt signalling component PAR1A by the Peutz-Jeghers syndrome kinase LKB1.

Loss-of-function mutations in the LKB1 (STK11) serine-threonine kinase gene cause Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, which is associated with inherited susceptibility to colorectal and other cancers. No downstream targets of LKB1 kinase activity have been identified. Here we show that LKB1 can direct the phosphorylation of the serine-threonine kinase PAR1A. The amino-acid residues phosphorylated as a result of LKB1 activity have been identified and phosphorylation at these residues is required for PAR1A kinase activity. PAR1A has previously been implicated as a positive regulator of the Wnt-betacatenin signalling pathway. We show here that LKB1 can modify transcription driven by the Wnt-regulated TCF response element, implicating LKB1 in a pathway known to play a key role in human colorectal tumorigenesis.

AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Kinases↗
PubMed2003

South Africa: Treatment Action Campaign steps up pressure.

In December 2002, in its ongoing efforts to secure access to affordable HIV/AIDS treatment for all South Africans, the grassroots organization Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) initiated two new proceedings over governmental failure to act to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In March 2003, it launched a national civil disobedience campaign to pressure government into implementing a national treatment and prevention plan, including taking measures to ensure access to affordable medicines.

Female↗
PubMed2003

Canadian Supreme Court upholds, but limits, AZT patent.

On 5 December 2002, the Supreme Court of Canada ended a long-running dispute when it unanimously upheld the validity of the Canadian patent on the antiretroviral drug zidovudine (AZT) held by Glaxo Wellcome (now GlaxoSmithKline).

Canada↗
PubMed2003

Canada: national summit on "Global health is a human right"!

Held in Ottawa on 21-22 May 2003, a national summit on "Global Health is a Human Right!" brought together 86 people representing over 60 Canadian civil society groups interested in joint advocacy on realizing the human right to health in developing countries. The summit focused particularly on addressing the global crises of communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria.

Canada↗