At the 122nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Bangkok, parliamentarians from around the world sought to encourage governments to remove travel restrictions on individuals living with HIV.

The United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UNAIDS are working to persuade parliamentarians of countries with current travel restrictions to be actively involved in removing them. Additionally, they are recommended to support legislation that protects HIV individuals from discrimination based on disease status.

Currently, a total of 52 countries have some kind of restrictions regarding entry, stay or residence of non-citizens living with HIV.

Recently, China’s complete ban on such visits and residence were brought to attention when Robert Dessaix, a famous HIV-positive author, was refused entry into the country.

According to China’s regulations, all short-term visitors to the country must affirm they are HIV negative in order to be allowed entry. Individuals who plan to stay for six months or longer are required to undergo an HIV test.

Despite its restrictions, China granted a waiver during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Currently, China’s health ministry is believed to be fully repealing the ban in time for an upcoming trade exposition in Shanghai on May 1st, 2010.

Michel Sidibé, UNAIDS Executive Director, explains in a press release why UNAIDS encourages the lifting of travel bans: “Travel restrictions for people living with HIV do not protect public health and are outdated in the age of universal access to HIV prevention and treatment.”

Some countries, such as the United Kingdom or the United States, no longer have travel restrictions for individuals with HIV.

In October 2009, President Obama eliminated the HIV entry ban. Effective January 4, 2010, non-citizens with HIV are now allowed to enter the United States (see related AIDS Beacon news).

Currently, UNAIDS is monitoring the countries that have these restrictions and has optimistic plans to remove them all.

For more information, please see the UNAIDS press release and the Aidsmap news article on China’s bans.