At the opening of
a two-day meeting in the General Assembly of the Joint
United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS),
U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon called for an end to
all discrimination against people with HIV or AIDS,
including travel restrictions imposed on them by some
countries.
"I call for a
change in laws that uphold stigma and discrimination,
including restrictions on travel for people living with
HIV," he said.
A letter signed
by 345 nongovernmental organizations was sent to leaders
and ambassadors of concerned countries to urge them to lift
the restrictions.
According to
UNAIDS, 74 countries place restrictive measures on
HIV-positive citizens, including noting the disease on their
passports.
Twelve nations
prohibit entry to anyone carrying the AIDS virus: Armenia,
Colombia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Solomon
Islands, South Korea, Sudan, the United States, and
Yemen.
Most of these
countries claim there are public-health concerns that
justify the restrictions. (The Advocate)
