Health Officials Contest HIV Bill. 9/5/10
Under the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Bill 2009, which Parliament is currently scrutinising, spreading the disease knowingly will become a criminal offence.
By Mary Karugaba
9 May 2010
Kampala — Officials from the health ministry, led by minister Richard Nduhura, stunned MPs on Friday when they contradicted themselves on the criminalisation of intentional transmission of HIV/AIDS.
Appearing before the HIV/AIDS committee, chaired by Beatrice Rwakimari, the officials said the section should be deleted.
Dr Alex Ario of the AIDS Control Programme argued that criminalisation of HIV spread will increase discrimination against people living with HIV and undermines their human rights.
"Instead of applying criminal law to HIV transmission, the Government should expand programmes to reduce its spread, while protecting the rights of people living with the disease," Ario said.
Under the HIV and AIDS Prevention and Control Bill 2009, which Parliament is currently scrutinising, spreading the disease knowingly will become a criminal offence.
Anybody who willfully and intentionally transmits the disease faces a fine of sh4.8m or imprisonment of up to 10 years, or both. An attempt to transmit the disease is also a crime under the new Bill and could attract a fine of sh240,000 or imprisonment of up to five years or both.
However, a person transmitting the virus will not be convicted if his partner was aware of his HIV status. The Bill also states that a person shall not be convicted if the infection occurred while protective measures were being used, such as when a condom bursts during sexual intercourse.
Ario proposed that the Government should strengthen and enforce laws against rape and other forms of violence against women and children. He called for the improvement of the criminal justice system in investigating and prosecuting sexual offences against women.
The officials urged the legislators to avoid introducing HIV-specific laws and instead apply general criminal law to cases of intentional transmission.
Ario said if implemented, the section would dampen the efforts Uganda has taken to fight the scourge.
After the presentation, the MPs wondered whether they should take the statement or ask the minister to withdraw it.
"It seems you are opposing the Bill. Is your change in position a result of pressure from human rights groups or somewhere else?" Rwakimari asked.
Chris Baryomunsi (NRM) said the Bill was a product of so many players and that measures to punish people who intentionally infect others with HIV should be put in place.
After hours of arguing, Nduhura gave in to the committee's position, saying the section should stay.
"We had proposed that the close be deleted, but after listening to the committee, we are convinced that it should remain," he said.