Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 09:10:00 -0500 From: David B. O'Donnell Subject: RUSSIA: DUMA PASSES LAW ON AIDS TESTS FOR FOREIGNERS [ Send all responses to Bjorn.Skolander@NORDISKA.UU.SE only. Any responses to the list or list-owners will be returned to you. ] 27 February 1995 - DUMA PASSES LAW ON AIDS TESTS FOR FOREIGNERS. The Duma passed an amended draft law on AIDS that requires most foreigners visiting Russia for more than three months to provide proof that they are HIV-free, agencies reported on 24 February. The vote was 276 to 0 with 3 abstentions. Diplomats are exempt from the compulsory test. The law, which will go into effect on 1 August if it is signed by President Yeltsin, is a softened variant of a draft first passed by the Duma in November that caused a storm of protest because it mandated HIV tests for all travelers to Russia. The new law is also likely to be criticized on the grounds that it infringes human rights and is medically senseless. According to figures released in May 1994, 105 people in Russia have died of AIDS since 1987 and another 740 have tested positive. Gay rights groups, however, say the true figure for those infected is much higher. -- Penny Morvant, OMRI, Inc. Source: OMRI DAILY DIGEST Open Media Research Institute Daily Digest