- Alliance for Open Society International
Alliance for Open Society International, Inc. (AOSI) is a
non-profit organization to promoteopen society by shapinggovernment policy and supportingeducation , the media,public health , andhuman rights , especially inCentral Asia . [http://www.aosi.kz/index_eng.htm] Alliance for Open Society International, Almaty Branch] AOSI also advocates social, legal, and economic reform to support public health and human rights. It is an organization of the Open Society Network (OSN) established in July 2003.Operations
AOSI is based in
New York City but to better serve Central Asia, the organization created its first regional branch office inAlmaty, Kazakhstan .From 2002 to 2007, AOSI administered
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-fundeddrug rehabilitation programs inUzbekistan ,Tajikistan , and theFerghana Valley Region ofKyrgyzstan . In some cases, the program was tailored in a "culturally appropriate" way to better mesh with local Islamic and Christian and beliefs. [http://www.aidsprojects.com/uploads/File/Treat%20Rehab_Eng.pdf] USAID-funded Drug Demand Reduction Program in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and the Ferghana Valley Region of Kyrgyzstan (aidsprojects.com)] According to AOSI:The countries covered under this program have experienced significant increases in
opiate consumption due to geography and recent socio-political events including the collapse of theSoviet Union and the Afghan conflict.Heroin transiting through these countries has created epidemics of drug use, undermining already fragile economies and threatening to overwhelm health systems with HIV. This has also occurred in other nearbyformer Soviet republics . (The) mission is to engage all levels of society in reducing demand for heroin and other opiates.The programs differed from locale to locale; examples of measures included were assistance with drug withdrawal
symptom s anddetoxification , education about the control ofhepatitis infection , halfway houses to help people rehabilitate and readjust to living without drugs, and -- at the program for drug addicts in the city ofOsh -- the use ofacupuncture .Leadership
Robert Kushen, Chair and President of the
Board of Directors , is a formerHuman Rights Watch reporter, [Conflict in the Soviet Union: Black January in Azerbaidzhan, by Robert Kushen, 1991, Human Rights Watch, ISBN 1564320278, p. 7] a formerExecutive Director ofMédecins du Monde , a member of theNew York Bar Association n and a member of theCouncil on Foreign Relations . Kushen also worked in the Office of the Legal Adviser of theUnited States Department of State where he focused on internationalcriminal justice ,counterterrorism , intelligence, and international scientific cooperation. [http://www.aosi.kz/sovet_eng.htm] Alliance for Open Society International Board]Ricardo Castro, Vice President and General Council for the AOSI, has experience in the area of
Latin America ncorporate finance . Treasurer Steve Gutmann audits AOSI financial operations inNew York City andBudapest . Maria Santos Valentin, Secretary and Deputy General Counsel for the AOSI, has financial experience in several areas, especially Latin America andEastern Europe .Lawsuit
In September 2005, AOSI sued the United States Agency for International Development and other
U.S. Government agencies in response to theanti-prostitution pledge that was a component of HIV/AIDS policy during theGeorge W. Bush administration being extended to include non-profit organizations based in theUnited States .Cite journal
volume = 4
issue = 7
pages = e207 EP -
last = Masenior
first = Nicole Franck
coauthors = Chris Beyrer
title = The US Anti-Prostitution Pledge: First Amendment Challenges and Public Health Priorities
journal = PLoS Medicine
accessdate = 2008-09-03
date = 2007-07-01
url = http://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0040207] [ [http://www.soros.org/initiatives/health/focus/sharp/news/usaid_20050923] OSI Sues USAID over Dangerous Public Health Policy] As described by theonline magazine "Medical News Today ":At issue in the case is a requirement that public health groups receiving U.S. funds pledge their "opposition to prostitution" in order to continue their life-saving
HIV prevention work. Under this "pledge requirement," recipients of U.S. funds are forced to censor even their privately funded speech regarding the most effective ways to engage high-risk groups in HIV prevention. [http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/43346.php] "Medical News Today" "Federal Court Holds "Anti-Prostitution Pledge Requirement" Violates First Amendment" (Main Category: HIV/AIDS, Article Date: 15 May 2006)]Just prior to this case, the non-profit organization
DKT International had brought a similar lawsuit that prevailed inDistrict Court but lost on appeal at theUnited States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit . The February 2007 ruling was based on the assumption that the government would allow speech regarding prostitution as long as it is done through an affiliate that doesn't receive federal funding. [US Court of Appeals (2007 February 27) District of Columbia Circuit Decision in [http://brennancenter.org/dynamic/subpages/download_file_47995.pdf DKT v. USAID No. 05-CV-01604] . Retrieved 5 September 2008.]With the backing of the
American Civil Liberties Union , AOSI sued the United States Agency for International Development, the financial backers of its Central Asian drug rehabilitation programs. Co-plaintiff s were theOpen Society Institute andPathfinder International .Lawyer s from theBrennan Center for Justice atNew York University School of Law represented the plaintiffs. [http://www.aclu.org/womensrights/gen/21210lgl20051109.html] American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU Foundation: "Amicus Brief in Alliance For Open Society International, Inc., et al. v. United States Agency For International Development, et al. (11/9/2005)"] [ [http://www.brennancenter.org/page/-/Justice/Pledge%20Decision%202008%20Q%20and%20A.Final.pdf] Brennan Center for Justice:Alliance for Open Society International v. USAID Questions and Answers About the August 8, 2008 Ruling Granting InterAction and Global Health Council a Preliminary Injunction]In May 2006, Judge Victor Marrero, a federal judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, issued a preliminary injunction against requiring these organizations to sign the anti-prostitution pledge. Ruling that such a sweeping restriction on the privately funded speech of groups violates the
First Amendment , Marrero wrote "The Supreme Court has repeatedly found that speech, or an agreement not to speak, cannot be compelled or coerced as a condition of participation in a government program."The government appealed the case to the
US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit . During the oral arguments in the case, the government stated that it would allow legally and physically separate affiliates to engage in the prohibited speech.The government issued guidelines to this effect in July 2007. In November 2007, the Appeals Court let the preliminary injunction stand and returned the case for trial to the District Court, where it is currently pending. [ [http://www.brennancenter.org/content/resource/aosi_v_usaid] "AOSI v. USAID" resources,Brennan Center for Justice . Retrieved 8 September 2008.]Links
* [http://www.aclu.org/FilesPDFs/memorandum%20of%20law%20of%20aids%20action%20and.pdf PDF of MEMORANDUM OF LAW OF AIDS ACTION AND TWENTY-ONE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS* AS AMICI CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR A PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION]
References
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