Marking World AIDS Day 2015, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) has made a robust submission to the National Dialogue on HIV and the Law, slated to begin on December 9 and culminate on December 10, Human Rights Day. SASOD’s submission focuses on the first-listed thematic area of the call for submissions: “sexual orientation and gender identity.” In the submission, SASOD reiterates calls for the repeal of archaic laws which criminalize same-sex intimacy and cross-dressing – a position which the organization has been advocating at local, national and international levels for over 12 years. These and other issues related to human rights and key populations affected by HIV will form part of the two-day national conference being spearheaded by a 10-member advisory committee of government ministries and civil society organisations in equal ratio, with technical and financial support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
