From: International Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission Date: 18 Jun 94 17:16 PDT FORCED HIV/AIDS TESTING Proposed IN RUSSIA A new draft law on AIDS in Russia will require HIV antibody tests for anyone suspected of belonging to a 'risk group'. The law would also allow for the deportation of foreigners who test HIV antibody positive. The State Duma will vote on the proposed legislation sometime in the middle of June. Urgent letters are needed to derail the proposed mass testing program and instead urge the Russian government to launch the sort of massive educational programs that have been proven to fight AIDS. The proposed law will violate international norms of human rights, anti-discrimination, freedom of movement, and confidentiality. The law targets "citizens who according to epidemiological indicators threaten massive spreading of HIV infection", a vague description that will allow the persecution and discrimination against various perceived 'risk groups'. Forced testing is motivated by the erroneous notion that AIDS is the responsibility of specific disenfranchised communities and not a common social problem which society as a whole must confront. Blaming so called "risk groups" for the epidemic only provokes increased marginalization and discrimination against populations whose social vulnerability has already made them difficult to reach. Ironically, foreigners, drug users, and gay men do not even constitute the major risk groups for HIV infection in Russia. Nearly half of the 740 Russians officially registered as carrying HIV were infected by the re-use of contaminated needles in hospitals. Given this epidemiological fact, it seems this new law is in part motivated by the Russian government's interest to white washing their own historical responsibility for the Russian AIDS epidemic. A Sample letter follows: Dear ___________: On behalf of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, specialists of the Ministry of Health Protection have drafted legislation entitled "Draft Law on Stopping the Spread of HIV Infection in the Russian Federation". Not only will it prove impossible to implement a law calling for forced testing, but most public health experts agree that mass testing does not prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS. Indeed, such policies may well sabotage treatment and education efforts by driving those most at risk far from the reach of public health workers. Resources spent on mass testing would be better spent on educational and outreach programs that are proven to help prevent AIDS. Furthermore, this legislation, especially the clauses regarding mandatory testing, contradicts international treaties and other documents signed by Russia , such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the "Riga Initiative" of World Health Organization. We ask you to reconsider the "Draft Law on Stopping the Spread of HIV Infection in the Russian Federation" and bring it into accord with international treaties, declarations, and other documents signed by Russia. Respectfully yours, Write to: Ms. Bella Denisenko, Committee for Health Protection, State Duma of the Russian Federation, Okhotniy Ryad 1, Moscow 103009, Russia; Fax: +7-95-292-7394 Mr. Eduard A. Nechaev, Ministry of Health, Rakhmanovskiy per., 3, Moscow GSP-4, 101431, Russia; Fax: +7-95-925-0128 Dr. Vadim Pokrovsky, Russian AIDS Center, 8-aya ul. Sokolinoi gory, 15/2, Moscow 105275, Russia; Fax: +7-95-365-4680 Mr. Anatoly A. Monisov, State Sanit/Epidem Surveillance, Vadkhovskiy per., 18/20, Moscow GSP-4, 101474, Russia; Fax: +7-95-973-1398