Barcelona 2002: law, ethics, and human rights. Juggling individual and collective concerns with respect to HIV/AIDS policies.
Conference
Varas-Díaz, N. (2002). Barcelona 2002: law, ethics, and human rights. Juggling individual and collective concerns with respect to HIV/AIDS policies.
. 7(2-3), 106-107.
Varas-Díaz, N. (2002). Barcelona 2002: law, ethics, and human rights. Juggling individual and collective concerns with respect to HIV/AIDS policies.
. 7(2-3), 106-107.
Efforts to prevent the spread of HIV infection sometimes give rise to tensions between individual and collective rights. This article, based on a presentation by Nelson Varas-Díaz (abstract TuOrG1171), explores these tensions in the context of the laws and policies of eight Latin American countries: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Puerto Rico. The article describes five elements of the response to HIV/AIDS in which tensions between individual and collective rights have surfaced: the participation of people living with HIV/AIDS on national commissions; the ability of HIV-positive persons to access antiretroviral medications; HIV-antibody testing practices; the confidentiality of health information; and the rights and duties of people living with HIV/AIDS. The article concludes that the success of programs designed to prevent the spread of HIV infection depends on the ability of societies and governments to balance the tensions between individual and collective rights.
