HIV/AIDS and human rights the Costa Rican ombudsman office report.
Int Conf AIDS 2004 Jul 11-16; 15:(abstract no. E10284)
Valerio C Ombudsman Office, San Jose, Costa Rica
Issues. Since the beginning of the AIDS epidemic until the present time, the respect for the Human Rights of people living with HIV/AIDS has been one of the main concerns for Public Health Policies because repression, discrimination and the unfulfillment of the Human Rights as well, constitute serious risk factors for the infection of HIV/AIDS. Description. The role of the Ombudsman Office of Costa Rica in the promotion and advocacy of HIV/AIDS Human Rights has been decisive in the improvement in the respect of fundamental rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. Seven report cases analyzed by the Ombudsman Office of Costa Rica from 1993 up to 2003 are presented in this paper. The Ombudsman Office has solved an important group of accusations for discrimination and unfulfillment to the General Law on HIV/AIDS and other juridical norms that protect Human Rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, as regards acquisition of life insurance, access to antirretroviral treatment, quality of hospital services, access to job and education opportunities, and HIV/AIDS in prisons, among others. Lessons learned. The decisive role of the Ombudsman Office of Costa Rica, together with another type of national circumstances has allowed that -at the present time- an important development of "empowerment" of the people living with the HIV/AIDS has taken place, so that today promotion and advocacy activities are carried out with greater ease than before the appearance of the Ombudsman Office and the General Law on HIV/AIDS. Recommendations. The role of the Ombudsman Office in the field of prevention of human rights violations of people living with HIV/AIDS is very important. Human Rights Institutions most meet more frequently in order to share experiences, coordinate combined actions and strengthen actions that are carried out at the national level.
Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Human Rights, HIV Seropositivity, HIV Infections, Prisons, Anti-HIV Agents, Politics, Infection, Costa Rica, Humans, organization & administration, methods
