Date: Fri, 29 Mar 1996 19:01:08 GMT From: ilga Subject: No to compulsory AIDS testing in Argentina ILGA Call for Action: 29 March 1996 "No to compulsory AIDS Testing in Argentina" *Compulsory AIDS Testing for Civilians and Military members of the Army* French groups are calling for immediate and urgent protest letters to the Argentinean government concerning their decree that all civilian and military members of the Armed and Security Forces, as well as all applicants to these national organizations, must be tested for AIDS. The move was announced in decree No 906/95 recently issued by the Argentinean Government of President Carlos Menem. This measure, which is already enforced by the Argentinean Ministry of Finance, is increasingly becoming part of private companies' hiring practises. *A discriminatory and <> decree* This decree is, in fact, contrary both to Argentina's Act 23798 which states that the fight against AIDS is of national interest, and more especially to Article 2 of this Act which upholds the dignity of all persons and formaly condemns any form of discrimination. Implementation of this decree constitutes a violation of medical confidentiality, notably with regards to AIDS. It means, in fact, that any government official will have access to the medical file of those HIV-positive persons who may be under their command. The State of Argentina is thus siding with totalitarian countries and reneging on its international commitments. It is transgressing the December 1, 1994 Paris World Summit Declaration on AIDS of which it is a signatory. It had indeed pledged therein that Argentina <>. There is a real danger today that similar measures might spread to other Latin-American countries with which Argentina has regional agreements. Aides Federation Nationale, ACT UP Paris, Chretiens et Sida, and David et Jonathan are strongly opposed to such measures, and have already written to President Carlos Menem that decree 906/95 be immediately abrograted. They are also asking both the French Government and the European Union to intervene so that President Carlos Menem declares his intention to uphold Argentina's commitment to defend human rights in his country. ILGA and its AIDS Working Party have also written to President Menem and issued a press release demanding that this decree be withdrawn. ILGA points out that the European Union has recently signed an economic agreement with Argentina under the MERCOSUR accord, and declares that the European Union cannot trade with partners that do not respect basic human rights. Join the protest! Demand the abrogation of decree 906/95 by writing to: President Carlos Menem, Casa de Gobierno, Balcarce 50, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Send a copy to: SIGLA, Parana 122, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Fax: +54 1 362 82 61. Text: Aides Federation Nationale, ACT UP Paris, Chretiens et Sida, David et Jonathan Distribution and additional text: ILGA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ILGA - International Lesbian and Gay Association 81 Kolenmarkt, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium Phone/Fax +32-2-502-2471, E-mail: ilga@glo.be A federation of over 300 groups from 70 countries fighting for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. ****************************************************************************** To send a message to the entire list "queerplanet", email queerplanet@abacus.oxy.edu To subscribe to the list, email MAJORDOMO@abacus.oxy.edu the one line message 'subscribe queerplanet'. To unsubscribe to the list, email MAJORDOMO@abacus.oxy.edu with the one line message 'unsubscribe queerplanet'. *******************************************************************************