The Bay Area Reporter - November 2, 2000
S. Predrag

"I was aware of what I was doing, and feel that I spoke within principled boundaries," Judge Cameron said. He explained that he had felt morally obliged to speak out against everyone, including Mbeki, who claims that HIV does not cause AIDS.

Recently, during an interview for one of the vacancies on the South African Supreme Court of Appeals, Cameron told the Judicial Services Commission, "I am not sitting in an armchair when it comes to the question of AIDS."

This high court judge, who openly admits that he is gay, last year disclosed that he is also HIV-positive.

"As a gay man living with AIDS, I will bring diversity to the court," Cameron said when asked by the commission about the contribution he would make if he was appointed to the appeals court post.

Cameron also emphasized that he was in good health and able to perform his job duties. "I have been on medication for three years which kept the virus at bay. ... If I didn't have the medication, I would have been dead by now."

The LGBT community believes that Cameron's appointment as an appeals court judge would enhance the constitutional and practical protection of human rights in South Africa.

Cameron, who obtained a bachelor's degree in law and a bachelor of arts degree at the University of Stellenbosch - both cum laude - and subsequently earned two more degrees at Oxford, is a well-known human rights activist and constitutional expert.

Instead of turning his diplomas and exceptional knowledge into a money-spinning machine, South Africa's first openly gay judge spent most of his time criticizing the former apartheid regime and defending human rights activists, freedom fighters, and conscientious objectors who did not want to join the white minority regime's army.

Cameron is not only respected for defending human rights activists; he also is a staunch supporter of gay and lesbian rights and especially the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS. For years now, he has played an important role in the fight for the legal protection of gays and lesbians, leading the crusade against the discrimination facing South Africa's homosexual population.

Cameron could have easily invoked his right to privacy, but he publicly disclosed that he was living with AIDS to highlight, as he put it, "the suffering of the millions of people in South Africa who are AIDS infected or HIV-positive."

He explained that his decision was motivated by a personal wish "to deal (with this problem) frontally."

He added that he was able to speak about his health problem because he has a secure job, access to medical care, and because he is surrounded by his loved ones, including friends and colleagues who care about him. For the multitude of people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa, that is often not the case.

"It is only by creating conditions in which people can speak out without fear that we can begin to end the silence surrounding South Africans living with AIDS and HIV," was the message this brave judge wanted to convey to the population at large.

"I am humbled by what Edwin has done, it must take a lot of courage. I admire him, and I believe that we, as gay people, should stop being ashamed of our sexuality. Let's start respecting each other as humans, instead of always looking for the bad in each other. Edwin, I take inspiration from you ..."

"This is what democracy is all about, to give everyone a little space to live as he or she chooses. Keep up the struggle, judge!"

These are just a couple of the messages sent to Cameron after he made his disclosure. His well-wishers wanted to encourage the judge to continue with his struggle for the rights of HIV/AIDS sufferers and the protection of gay and lesbian rights in South Africa.

For many years before his appointment to court, Cameron was a pioneer in calling for human rights, equality, dignity and privacy for all people, including people with HIV and AIDS. The judge lived up to many people's expectations when he addressed the 13th International Conference on AIDS in Durban in July and received worldwide news coverage.

Cameron openly criticized Mbeki for his "intractably puzzling" statements and his "flirtation" with AIDS dissidents which had shocked almost everyone involved in fighting the pandemic.

Cameron also attacked the government's decision not to provide the drug AZT to HIV-positive pregnant women, which results in about 5,000 HIV-positive babies being born every month.

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