Euro MP Attempting to End HIV Traveller Ban to US
Tuesday 8th April 2008
Baroness Sarah Ludford, London’s Liberal Democrat MEP, has launched an online campaign to end the US’ policy of refusing visas to people with HIV.
US immigration law classifies any foreign citizen who tests positive for HIV or AIDS as "inadmissible". This bars them not only from becoming a permanent resident, but from short-term and tourist travel as well.
Ludford argues that the policy is discriminatory and its justification as a “public health measure” is not based in fact. The de facto ban on HIV/AIDS sufferers entering the US was made law in the mid-80s and is based on outdated scientific beliefs about the spread of the disease.
Baroness Ludford is attempting to use talks currently being held on visa waivers for EU citizens as a way to insure that all EU citizens, including those suffering from HIV, are treated equally.
Talks on waiving the visa requirement for EU citizens entering the United States are currently being held. Ludford is leading several other MEPs and EU citizens in an online campaign to see that waiver apply to HIV and AIDS sufferers in the EU as well.
Ludford said: “The greater the number of people who support the call to end this unfair discrimination, the less the problem can be ignored by European policy-makers. The persistence of the travel ban just feeds prejudice and ignorance.”
She added: “EU equalities laws will be meaningless if the Commission and Council fail to insist that the US treat all EU citizens fairly. They can only redeem their 15-year tolerance of this gross discrimination by taking a firm line in the new negotiations.”
US gay rights organizations are leading a similar protest on their end in the hopes of lifting the ban. The US is one of only 13 countries, along with Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Iran, that ban HIV positive travelers.
US immigration law classifies any foreign citizen who tests positive for HIV or AIDS as "inadmissible". This bars them not only from becoming a permanent resident, but from short-term and tourist travel as well.
Ludford argues that the policy is discriminatory and its justification as a “public health measure” is not based in fact. The de facto ban on HIV/AIDS sufferers entering the US was made law in the mid-80s and is based on outdated scientific beliefs about the spread of the disease.
Baroness Ludford is attempting to use talks currently being held on visa waivers for EU citizens as a way to insure that all EU citizens, including those suffering from HIV, are treated equally.
Talks on waiving the visa requirement for EU citizens entering the United States are currently being held. Ludford is leading several other MEPs and EU citizens in an online campaign to see that waiver apply to HIV and AIDS sufferers in the EU as well.
Ludford said: “The greater the number of people who support the call to end this unfair discrimination, the less the problem can be ignored by European policy-makers. The persistence of the travel ban just feeds prejudice and ignorance.”
She added: “EU equalities laws will be meaningless if the Commission and Council fail to insist that the US treat all EU citizens fairly. They can only redeem their 15-year tolerance of this gross discrimination by taking a firm line in the new negotiations.”
US gay rights organizations are leading a similar protest on their end in the hopes of lifting the ban. The US is one of only 13 countries, along with Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Iran, that ban HIV positive travelers.
