In June 2008, Ban Ki Moon called on all UN member states to end restrictions on travel based on HIV status, saying “60 years after the Universal Declaration on Human Rights] it is shocking that there should still be discrimination against those at high risk, such as men who have sex with men, or stigma attached to individuals living with HIV.” At the time twelve countries– Armenia, Colombia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sudan, the United States and Yemen — barred entry to people with HIV. As of Janaury 1, the U.S. and Korea can be taken off that list. Good for the United States and Korea–and good for Ban Ki Moon to provide some international moral leadership on the issue.
Here is the Secretary General’s statement: