[COMMENTARY] A Second Look at Korea’s “Lifting” of its HIV Travel Ban

Posted on by
Thumbnail image for KoreaAIDS.jpg
By Ken Oh

Can rules be changed when they aren’t changed?
What may appear to be a purely metaphysical question is creating some
real-world confusion in the Republic of Korea.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently applauded South Korea’s announced lifting
of its entry ban on HIV-positive foreigners. UNAIDS executive director
Michel Sidibe also extolled the move, effective January 1, as an important step
in the effort to realize the global freedom of movement for people living with
HIV.  But the reality appears to be more
complex.

(more…)

[COMMENTARY] Is Two Times a Trend? The U.S. and South Korea Lift HIV Travel Restrictions

Posted on by

By Ken Oh

  

Last Monday, the United Nations issued a statement applauding the United States and the Republic of Korea for lifting travel bans on people living with HIV/AIDS(PLWHA).  The US ban had been in effect for 22 years, and the South Korean ban had been similarly entrenched.  Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, hailed the parallel policy changes as “a victory for human rights on two sides of the globe”.  

(more…)