Legal Rights of People Living With HIV/Aids

Representatives from non-governmental organizations and government leaders met in Accra on Friday at a conference for lawyers on the legal rights and social issues facing Ghanaians living with HIV/AIDS.

Esther Baah Amoako, Executive Director of AIDS Alert Ghana (AAG), said the ultimate goal of the conference was to create an "enabling society for people with HIV/AIDS".

The workshop, organised by AAG with support from Ghana AIDS Commission and the British Council, was to brainstorm legal means of protecting the human rights of those infected with HIV and to combat stigmatisation.

"People with HIV are the most vulnerable in our society. They need special attention under our laws," said Mr. Benjamin Kwesi Oppong, Deputy Commissioner of Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ).

Women and children, already marginalized by society and disproportionately affected by HIV, are particularly endangered by the stigma surrounding the disease.

"Fear of the stigmatisation may prevent people living with HIV/AIDS from seeking early treatment," Ms. Amoako said. "They may also, for fear of discrimination and stigmatisation, have unprotected sex to give the impression they are uninfected."

Mr. Oppong said HIV status is not specifically mentioned in the UN Declaration on Human Rights; nevertheless, discrimination of any kind in employment decision and medical attention is a violation of human rights.

Although the workshop was intended for lawyers to sensitize them to the social issues facing people living with HIV/AIDS and to inform participants about the relevance of existing laws, multiple speakers stressed the importance of the capacity of Ghana's government to pass laws protecting the rights of HIV-infected individuals by passing protective legislation specific to HIV/AIDS.

Countries such as Canada, South Africa, and Uganda were mentioned by Mr. Oppong as being role models for their responsiveness in establishing legal rights crucial to the future of people living with HIV/AIDS in those countries.

Protecting Ghana from the threats HIV imposes upon the country as a whole was also discussed.

"HIV not only has an impact on the infected individuals, but also the family and community," Mr. Oppong said.

Deputy Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Ms. Gloria Akuffo, warned against laws removing rights from people living with HIV/AIDS. Laws that ban people living with HIV/AIDS from working certain jobs promote an environment of stigmatisation, she said. She also stressed the importance of traditional leaders' involvement in campaigns to stop the spread of HIV and destigmatise the disease.

The workshop with the theme, "Destigmatising HIV/AIDS: Toward the Creation of an Enabling Society for People Living with HIV/AIDS" was held at the British Council Auditorium.