ARAS Seminar, a First Step Towards the Governmental - Nongovernmental Partnership
29th of March, 2008
The Romanian Association Against AIDS (ARAS) has organized, between 26-28 of March, at Sinaia, the second workshop regarding "The Social Partnership for Promoting the Civil Rights of Vulnerable Persons".
First workshop, held at Bucharest in December 2007, was dedicated to the essay to establish a map of medical and social services for persons belonging to vulnerable groups, as they are defined in HIV/AIDS National Strategy for 2004-2007 (Commercial Sex Workers-CSW, Injecting Drug Users-IDU, Homeless, PLWHA and Roma population from disadvantaged communities).
The Sinaia Seminar proposed a new social partnership for promoting the civil rights of vulnerable persons, following the guidelines addopted at the previous meeting.
These workshops are activities included in a project called " Advocate for you", financed by the Global Fund through Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation, whose main objective is to increase the non-discriminative access of the vulnerable groups at high quality medical and social services.
Therefore, the meeting, held in a wonderful touristy site and in a relaxed atmosphere, reached to establish some conditions for the partnership.Several institutions sent their represent ants at this workshop: County Police Departments (Arad, Bacau, Brasov, Constanta, Cluj, Dolj, Timis, Neamt and Bucharest), Proximity Police and Romanian Gendarmerie (Iasi, Constanta), National Anti-Drug Agency (Dolj, Cluj), CPECA (Dolj, Cluj), County Health Authorities (Timis, Dolj, Arad, Iasi, Neamt), The National Administration of Penitentiaries, etc.
Together with ARAS trained staff, coming from all over the country, at the meeting participated represent ants of the civil society implicated in this area: Romanian Harm Reduction Network, Integration, Positive Sense, Romanian Angel Appeal, Close to You, SAMU Social, Health Aid Romania, UNOPA.
At this meeting also took part as an invited consultant Ms. Catalina Iliuta, from UNODC, whose experience and professionalism represented a plus for the quality of the debate.
On the working agenda were included, during the first day debates, the Analysis of HIV/AIDS Strategy's Implementation, practices and present legal frame but also activities related to intervention methods for denouncing discrimination acts for PLWHA and for those vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.
One of the generally accepted observations was that there still is a poor knowledge about vulnerable groups either among general population but also among communities and public institutions that ensure medical and social services.
The second day of the workshop marked several debates among working groups, in order to establish the main steps of an interventional strategy for defending the civil rights of vulnerable groups.
Video materials (spots, films, interviews), presented by ARAS in the plenary session and witch reflected concrete and real situations of non respecting fundamental rights, especially those of vulnerable groups, have generated intense debates.
Local intervention groups are needed, in order to approach together the elaboration and application of a local strategy, was another generally accepted conclusion.
Surely it wasn't the last meeting of this kind. Periodically meetings and also sharing experience will constitute important steps in realizing an improvement of the present situation.
The conclusions of this meeting will be available in short time at www.arasnet.ro!
