Guide to an effective human rights response to the HIV epidemic

Examples of non-discrimination laws that explicitly
apply to people living with HIV and AIDS include:
on the grounds of his or her real or presumed
HIV status shall be considered an act of stigmatisation.
Burundi: Law 1/018 (2005) on the Legal Protection
of People Living With HIV/AIDS requires
public authorities to fight HIV-related discrimination.
Law 1/018 on the Legal Protection of People
Living With HIV/AIDS, Article 22.
The public authorities are obliged to set up all
The majority of legislative activity in relation to
equality and non-discrimination has occurred in
the area of labour law (employment). For example,
Lesotho and South Africa have outlawed discrimination
at the workplace. An example from Angola
is as follows:
appropriate mechanisms to fight against all
forms of discrimination against persons infected
with HIV or suffering from AIDS, in addition to
providing them with medical and psychosocial
care.
Angola: Decree 43/03 (Regulation on HIV/AIDS,
Employment, and Professional Training) (2003)
expressly forbids HIV testing for purposes of
employment
Madagascar: Law 2005-040 (2005) on the Fight
against HIV/AIDS and the Protection of the
Rights of People Living with HIV/AIDS covers
stigma and discrimination against people living
with HIV, particularly in the workplace, schools,
clinics and hospitals.
Law 2005-040, Article 2
Decree 43/03 (2003), Section 6(1)
It is not permitted under any circumstances to
conduct an HIV test as a pre-requisite for admission
for employment, neither is the forced control
of HIV/AIDS in the workplace permitted,
unless at the request of the candidate or employee,
except for those cases where it is legally
required.
Any difference in treatment, any distinction,
restriction, exclusion of a person living with HIV/
AIDS or his or her partner(s) and/or his or her
close relatives on the ground of his or her real
or presumed HIV status, that aim to undermine
the recognition, the enjoyment or the exercise
of their rights or fundamental liberties shall be
considered an act of discrimination.
Any behaviour aiming to discredit, despise or
ridicule a person living with HIV/AIDS or his or
her partner(s) and/or his or her close relatives
‘Wilful transmission’ of HIV
Countries such as Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar,
Swaziland and Zimbabwe have criminalised
the ‘wilful transmission’ of HIV. Wilful transmission
of HIV can be defined as the deliberate spread of
HIV. For example, a person could be charged if he or
she knows that he or she is HIV-positive but still engages
in unprotected sex with someone else, thereby
transmitting HIV knowingly.
46 | Guide to an effective human rights response to the HIV epidemic