The 2017 Social Forum, an annual meeting convened by the Human Rights Council, is being held next week in Geneva, and will focus on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of the HIV epidemic and other communicable diseases and epidemics.

The Social Forum is taking place from 2-4 October. It gathers civil society, governments, and intergovernmental organisations. The draft programme of work is here.

Keynote speakers include: Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); Tedros Adhanom, Director-General, World Health Organization (WHO); Loyce Maturu, Member of the Steering Committee of the Y+ Global Network of Young People Living with HIV, Zimbabwe; and Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO).

The three-day event is expected to explore the role of human rights in the context of access to health services, goods and facilities, and identify concrete action to be taken by states and other stakeholders, according the event website.

On 4 October there is a panel related to intellectual property:

11h30-12h10  Translating principles into action: Access to medicines, diagnosis, vaccines and treatment in the context of the right to health

Moderator: Ms. Susan Mathews, Human Rights Officer, Right to Development Section, OHCHR

• Raquel Peck, CEO, World Hepatitis Alliance, United Kingdom
• Othoman Mellouk, Intellectual Property and Access to Medicines Lead, International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, Morocco
• Ellen ´t Hoen, Senior Researcher, Global Health Unit, University Medical Centre Groningen, The Netherlands
• Elena Villanueva-Olivo, Medical Innovation and Access Policy Adviser, Médecins Sans Frontières Access Campaign, Geneva